Sunburn
by coldplaysout
Summary: NOW A FULL-LENGTH STORY. Hanna/Caleb. Caleb leaves for Ravenswood. What happens to their relationship? What trials and tribulations must they face in order to keep their relationship, and themselves, alive ? My God I suck at summaries. Give it a chance! Titled after the amazing song "Sunburn" by Ed Sheeran.
1. Sweet and Gentlemanly

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything. In my dreams I do though.**

**PLEASE READ: **

**First of all, I'm sorry it's so long.**

**Secondly, this story was based on an ask answered by HalebConfessions on tumblr. They were asked what they would want to happen if Caleb ever returned to Rosewood from Ravenswood, and I decided to write a fanfic of their answer. I changed the ending a little, but still tried to stay true to the nature of their answer.**

**ALSO…**

**For all intensive purposes, I made Ravenswood a town in Tennessee (too far for Hanna and Caleb to possibly have a functioning relationship). Just so ya'll know.**

**Okay, here we go! Hope you guys enjoy it!**

* * *

"Hanna, are you sure you're ready for this?"

"Yes."

"If you're not, don't worry. I can tell Jake to tell Peter you can't make it."

"No," Hanna swallowed a rising lump in her throat as she fell back on her bed, her cellphone pressed to her ear, "I want to go."

"Han…" Aria sighed, "No, you don't."

Tears stung Hanna's eyes. She hated how her voice betrayed her; fumbling and cracking whenever she tried to make plans over the past two months. She used to be good at lying, but ever since he left she couldn't seem to muster the strength to conceal the constant pain she was in. "I…" Hanna trailed off, wiping a stray tear that slipped down her cheek, "You're right, I don't want to go."

"Do you want me to come over? Since Spencer's with Toby and Emily's with Paige I could come over and we could watch a movie or something?"

"No no," Hanna closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose with her index finger and thumb, "Go out with Jake. Tell Peter that I'm sorry. I'll be fine, I'm going to go to bed early tonight."

"Are you sure?" Aria frowned, "I can get together with Jake another day."

"I'm sure," Hanna moved her hand from the bridge of her nose to her forehead, "Really, go."

"Okay…call me if you need anything, alright?"

"I will," Hanna felt another tear begin to slide down her cheek, "Have fun, Aria," As she hung up the phone, Hanna grabbed her pillow and hugged it close to her chest. She looked to her desk; her eyes searching for the picture of her hugging him from behind that was usually sitting right where she did her homework. It wasn't there anymore. In the initial days of his departure she had, with tears streaming down her cheeks, shoved it in a cardboard box along with the rest of the mementos from their relationship and had stuck it in the attic. She missed it. She missed the picture. She missed the mementos. She missed him. And every day it got worse.

* * *

"_Hanna," Caleb pulled Hanna into his chest, feeling her tears seep into his white t-shirt. He rested his cheek on her hair and let his own tears begin to fall as he felt her sobs shake her in his arms, "Ple-please say something."_

"_I…" Hanna's throat tightened as another sob erupted from her chest, "I…d-don't want yo-you to leave m-me," Her words were detached as sobs ripped, slicing the silence in her room, "I love you s-so much."_

_Caleb squeezed his eyes shut and tightened his grip on Hanna. His hot, salty tears poured down his cheeks as he felt her place a shaky kiss on his chest. "I love you too, Hanna, God, so much. Th-this is…" Caleb paused, inhaling a wobbly breath as he tried to find the appropriate words for the situation they were in. But there were no words. His father was taking him away from his home, his friends, the love of his life. And there were no words. "God, I love you," Caleb settled on, his voice trembling. He planted a kiss on the top of her head and moved his hands to her hair, where he began to softly rub the back of her neck. "I can't im-imagine my life without you."_

"_Don't le-leave me," Hanna said softly, lifting her head from Caleb's chest. Bloodshot and puffy, her eyes stared into his as her voice dropped to a faint whisper, "Please, Caleb." Her tears were ceaseless._

"_Baby, you know I would if I could," Caleb's hands moved to her cheeks. He cupped her delicate face in his strong hands, his thumbs wiping away her flowing tears. "But Jamie is my legal guardian now, and he's leaving to live in Ravenswood…" Caleb's face twisted at the name of his new hometown, "…which means I have to go too."_

"_I hate this," Hanna gipped onto his shirt with all the strength she could muster and inhaled a jagged breath, "I ca-can't…I can't…"_

"_Can't what, Han?" Caleb lowered his face so it was close enough to hers that he could feel her hot breath on his lips. Hanna looked into his eyes as she continued crying. With a tenderness only someone with a deep, innate love for the other could give, he kissed her forehead, her nose, and both the dimples on her cheeks he adored so much. But he didn't kiss her lips. Not yet. _

"_Can't live without you!" Hanna wailed, throwing her arms around Caleb's neck and burying her face into his chest once again. Neither had said it, but both knew they were breaking up. This wasn't like the last time Caleb had left. It wasn't a trip to Montecito, where he would come back in a few weeks and everything would go back to normal. This was a permanent move. To a different state. In a different town. To a different school. With different people. _

"_I know," Caleb was certain he could actually feel his heart actually cracking in half as Hanna sobbed into his chest. He had never felt such pain in his entire life. It was like someone was sticking a knife into his heart and twisting it slowly, enjoying the way he suffered, "I know." He hugged her with all his force against his body. He hugged so tightly that after a few minutes of gripping onto her, he realized he was probably hurting her. "I want you to know how much I love you, Hanna."_

_Hanna moved her head up from Caleb's chest and moved her hands up to cup his face, as he had just done with her. Caleb leaned his head foreword so their foreheads were resting against each other. He stared into her eyes and began to memorize their brilliant shade of blue. _

"_You're the best thing that's ever happened to me, Hanna," Caleb started, moving his hand briefly from her upper back to wipe the tears trickling down his cheeks, "I fell in love with you the first time I saw you. You were everything I was looking for, and you quickly became everything to me. My entire world," Caleb inhaled heavily and shakily, "Every time we're together, I fall more in love with you. You've opened me up…" Caleb paused, a small sob choking his throat. Hanna stood up on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek, and he smiled at her through his tears as he continued, "I've told you things I've never told anyone and never will tell anyone. You've made me a better person, and there's no way I can repay you for that…" Caleb leaned forward and kissed her cheek gently, "I love you more than you'll ever know, Hanna. A-and I always will."_

_Hanna crushed her lips against Caleb's, the tears pouring down both their faces as they kissed with an intensity they never had before. Their kisses said the words neither could bear to say, and the words they would never get the chance to say. They memorized and rememorized the feeling of each other's lips, and when they finally parted and Caleb leaned his forehead against Hanna's once more, Hanna was left breathless and devastated._

"_I love you," was all she could manage to say. She was never good at making elaborate speeches and with the mental and emotional state she was in, she could barely muster two words. "I love you so much, and I-I want you to stay," She bit down hard on her bottom lip, "But I know you can't."_

_They continued to speak in soft whispers and gentle kisses. They spoke of the future, if they would keep in touch, if they would remain friends, what would happen to them. After another round of painful sobs and passionate kisses, they decided to end everything. No communication. No friendship. It would be too hard, they rationalized. Too hard to speak to the other like nothing had happened. Too hard to speak to the other like they were actually going to see each other again. They continued to speak in these soft whispers and gentle kisses for all of what felt like a split second before Jamie called Caleb and told him it was time to leave._

_Caleb hung up the phone and shoved it in his pocket. The tears were falling furiously down his and Hanna's faces. The front of his white shirt was soaked. He stared at Hanna through the tears, both knowing this was it. Forever._

"_I'll never forget you, Hanna Marin," Caleb managed to say before kissing her one last time and hastily leaving her room. When he closed the door, Hanna reached behind herself for her bed, but just pathetically swiped at the air before falling to the ground and curling up in a ball, the sobs ripping viciously from her chest as she wailed and cried and screamed and cursed to God that he would do such a thing to her. _

_It was the end of her and Caleb Rivers._

* * *

Hanna truly did try to get to bed early that night, but like every night, her mind relentlessly replayed her last moments with Caleb. It had been playing these moments so endlessly that for the past two months, Hanna was lucky if she got over two hours of sleep.

She had deleted his number from her phone, unfriended him on whatever social media sites she needed to, moved all photos and traces of their relationship away from her bedroom, and asked her friends to never speak of him. She removed him from every aspect of her life possible, but she still saw him everywhere she went. He was in her every thought; his face was everywhere she looked. Because she couldn't remove him from her mind. And that was the hardest part.

After hours of tossing and turning, she decided to go to the Brew. Hanna could feel the night was turning into another sleepless one, and she would rather be out in public with some sort of distraction than in her bed where her mind seemed to be the loudest. So she got dressed, grabbed the keys, and headed out the door.

* * *

Hanna walked into the brew. Her body was tired and yearning for sleep, but her mind racing with thoughts of Caleb. She walked up to the counter, shook her head - as if that would temporarily rid her mind of thoughts of him - and began to order.

"I'll have a non-fat, decaf coffee please," Hanna said, her voice weary. She took a seat on the couch and buried her face in her hands, inhaling and exhaling deeply. She wasn't sure at the time of their breakup if time would ease the pain or not, but what she was fairly certain was that time couldn't possibly make the pain _worse_. But she was wrong. Because the pain she felt now, every day since he had left, only got deeper and more painful. She felt physical pain in her heart, she felt nauseous all the time, and, most of all, she felt _sad_. She hadn't smiled in months. She hadn't laughed in months. She wasn't goofy, spirited Hanna anymore. She was a shell of her former self. That's all she was. A shell.

"Hanna?"

Hanna lifted her hands from her face. She didn't realize that she had shed a few tears until she looked to her palms and noticed the dampness. She looked to where her name was being called. "Emily?"

"Are you alright, Han?!" Emily rushed over to Hanna and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "What happened?!"

"I…" Hanna sighed as she felt tears sprout to her eyes, "I…"

"What, Hanna?!"

"I miss him, Emily," Hanna let the tears spill over her lids as she leaned her head on Emily's shoulder. She cried and Emily comforted her by patting her hair and rubbing her shoulder.

"I know," Emily said quietly, frowning as her best friend continued to cry, "I know you do."

"Everything I try to do to get over him…" Hanna inhaled a ragged breath as she wiped her tears away, "…doesn't work."

"Sometimes the only thing that helps is time." Emily said softly, patting Hanna's hair.

"I thought that too. But everyday the pain of missing him just gets worse. I don't know what to do, Em." Hanna leaned her head against Emily's shoulder and sighed.

"Have you considered talking to him, or maybe even seeing him?"

"No," Hanna answered immediately, a reflex reaction. She blinked and bit her lip before she opened her mouth to speak again, "I mean, I don't know. We decided to, uh, cut off all communication after he left. It would just be too hard."

Emily frowned and leaned her cheek on Hanna's hair, "Well, maybe you need to speak to him. Maybe the reason you can't get over him is because you left something unsaid. Maybe you don't have closure."

"We have closure," Hanna replied, her tone snarky, "We spent an hour and a half at my house crying and telling each other everything we felt."

"Well then…" Emily pursed her lips, "I don't know. Maybe you don't have _proper _closure. It should be getting at least a littleless painful by now."

Hanna lifted her head from Emily's shoulder. "So what do you think I should do?"

"Call Caleb. I know Ravenswood is too far to go see him -"

"Yeah, twelve and a half hours," Hanna said glumly, adding under her breath, "Stupid Tennessee."

"Exactly. So call him and see what comes out," Emily smiled sympathetically at Hanna, "You never know what you might be wanting to say to someone until you actually start saying it."

Hanna's eyes moved to the coffee cup sitting on the table in front of her. She didn't even notice the barista deliver it to her. Unblinking, she stared at the cup, her mind reeling.

"I think I'm going to call him right now." Hanna stood up and pulled her phone out of her pocket. Although she had deleted his number from her phone, she still had it memorized.

"Good luck," Emily smiled reassuringly at her friend, "If you need anything I'll be here."

"Thanks, Em." Hanna smiled back at Emily before turning on her heels and walking out of the Brew. She stood on the patio and, with trembling fingers, dialed Caleb's number.

It began to ring.

Hanna could feel her heart pounding against her chest. She suddenly felt dizzy and excited and nervous and dreadful all at the same time as she impatiently and anxiously listened to the shrill ring tone and braced herself to hear Caleb's voice for the first time in two months.

"Hello?"

"Caleb," Hanna blurted the moment she heard his voice. Immediately she felt a lump begin to rise in her throat as his voice, as sweet and gentlemanly as it always had been, processed through her brain. "It's, uh, it's Hanna."

"Hanna?"

Hanna could hear the blatant shock in his voice. She suddenly forgot how to speak.

"Uh, yeah…um…"

"Is something wrong, Hanna?"

Panic. His sweet, gentlemanly voice that only a moment ago was lathered in shock, twisted, and was now manipulated by fear. Now he was frightened for her. He thought she was in some kind of danger. In her mind, Hanna could match his exact facial expression and demeanor with the present tone of his voice. His deep brown eyes would be narrowed and his lips would be tugged down in a frown and he would be leaning his face closer towards hers, reaching his hand out to cup her cheek and asking her in his sweet, gentlemanly voice that was twisted and constrained by fear, if she was alright. And he would be promising her, as he moved his lips to her ear, that he would and could do anything to protect her, should he need to.

But he didn't this time.

He simply stayed silent.

Because he couldn't reach out to cup her cheek or place his forehead against hers and promise her warmth and safety. And he wouldn't, even if he wasn't twelve and a half hours away. Because she wasn't his, and he wasn't hers. He had no reason whatsoever to want, or _need_ to protect her.

"No," Hanna replied after she thought of all of this. Her throat began to tighten and she felt her eyes begin to sting with tears. "No, I'm fine."

"Then why are you calling me?"

His voice wasn't snarky or impatient. The fear was still there, but now there was concern now, too. Hanna tried not to let her mind wander to what his facial expression and demeanor would be now, but it was nearly impossible. She could clearly picture his narrowed eyes softening and his thumb stroking her cheek and his lips still tugged down in a frown. She could picture all of this so clearly although it had been two months, sixty days, since he had left. And these mental images, stark with clarity, were what were sprouting the stinging tears to her eyes. She missed him so much. And hearing his voice just made it worse.

"I, um, I don't really…" Hanna bit her bottom lip as a lone tear streamed down her cheek, riding over the crevices of her dimple, "I guess I just wanted to hear your voice."

"Well…it's, uh, it's nice to hear from you. But I've got to go."

Detached. His sweet, gentlemanly voice was detached and etched with a pain that caused Hanna to feel more stinging tears stream down her face. She could picture his face now; his eyebrows crinkled, his eyes hard, his lips in a firm line and his hands moving away from her face, shoving themselves into the pockets of his jeans. Kind of like the way he was when he left her. Actually, exactly like the way he was when he left her. As Hanna thought about this the dial tone began to ring in her ear. And as she noticed it, shrill and uninviting, more tears began to fall down her face. He had hung up. And just like that, he was gone. Loosened from her grip, floating away in the breeze. Hanna had tried to talk to him, but nothing had come out right. Nothing had come out at all. She wanted to say so many things, about how much she missed him and loved him, about how she couldn't go a day, hell, a minute, without thinking of him - but nothing had come out. With tears falling furiously down her face, she shoved her phone back into her pocket and strode back into the brew. Emily stood up as she watched Hanna stalk towards her, her eyes swimming with trepidation.

"Oh, Hanna -" Emily began, prepared to comfort her friend.

"No, don't talk to me," Hanna retorted, her voice thick as tears poured down her face, "This was a mistake, Emily," She grabbed her coffee cup from the table and narrowed her bloodshot eyes at her best friend, "I didn't have anything to say to him. I can't believe I listened to you." On her heels, Hanna turned, hot with anger and sorrow, and stormed out of the Brew.

* * *

It had been two weeks since her call to Caleb, and Hanna wasn't doing well. The June sun beat down on her face as she walked from the Brew to the park across the street. She could hardly believe graduation was in only a few days. She had finished her last exam the day before, but Emily, Aria, and Spencer all still had exams until the next day. That left Hanna alone. And she didn't do well alone. Especially in these past two weeks.

She took a seat on the bench and took her phone out of her pocket, scrolling down her contacts to find anyone to text. But everyone was either busy with exams or busy with their own friends.

Or twelve and a half hours away.

Sighing, Hanna stood up from the bench and began to make her way to the Grille. It was nearing noontime and her stomach was signaling to her that it was time to get some food in its system. As she began to stand in line, she saw a boy a few people ahead of her with a head of long brown hair.

She recognized that hair.

It was hair that ended at the nape of his neck, two inches past his ears, almost at the collar of his signature green jacket…

Hanna squeezed her eyes shut and reopened them.

Yup. He was still there.

His back was turned to her, so Hanna hadn't seen his face. But she was certain…

"Caleb?" She said his name loud enough for him to hear over the lunchtime bustle. It took all her strength to not reach out across the people in line in front of her and tap his shoulder. "Caleb?"

He didn't turn around. A pang of rejection washed through Hanna, but she didn't give up. She maneuvered through the lineup until she got directly in front of him. Ignoring the complaints of the people she had just gotten ahead of in line, she began to slowly twisted her neck. Her heart was pounding like it was when she had called him. This was it. This was the moment she had been waiting for for two and a half months. That dizzy and excited and nervous and dreadful feeling twined and twirled through her veins.

"Caleb," she said for a third time as she turned around completely, preparing herself for his warm, deep brown eyes that she missed and loved so much.

Except they weren't brown.

They were green.

She didn't know these eyes. Or miss them. Or love them.

It wasn't him.

"Caleb?" the man said quizzically, "What?"

"I-I'm sorry," Hanna could feel the blood rush to her cheeks as she slinked away to the back of the line. She pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head. She was going insane without him. Literally.

* * *

"I _saw_ him, Spencer. I could've sworn it was him."

Spencer popped a popcorn kernel in her mouth as she closed her physics textbook. "It wasn't him though, right?"

"No," Hanna sighed as she lay on Spencer's couch, "It wasn't. I think my mind is going into some sort of downward spiral or something. I mean, between this and exams kicking my butt…"

"Hey," Spencer touched Hanna's forearm gently, "Take it from someone who knows exactly what you're going through. This is normal. When I was in Radley, I saw Toby everywhere."

Hanna smiled a small smile at Spencer. "Yeah? I guess I just really, really miss him still."

"I know. Why did you guys decide to never speak or anything again?" Spencer furrowed her eyebrows, "It sounds like you guys chose the most painful solution possible. Maybe that's why with time, it's getting harder instead of easier."

Hanna sat up and ran a hand through her short blonde hair. "Well, we decided that if we couldn't see each other, it would be hard to still speak to each other like we had never been together," she began to frown, "His exact words were, 'I can't text you from Tennessee and ask you how your life is and pretend that I'm not still desperately in love with you.'"

Spencer nodded slowly, "Ah, I see. Well, that actually makes sense."

Hanna shrugged and rolled her eyes. "Well look how well it's working out with me," she chuckled darkly, "I've been lying on your couch like a potato the whole day, trying not to think about how I practically hallucinated yesterday."

"Hey, don't be so hard on yourself," Spencer patted Hanna's shoulder and looked down at her closed textbook, "Okay, Han, I really hate to kick you out when you're already down, but…"

Hanna looked at Spencer, who was staring at her textbook. "No, I get it. You need to study." Standing up, she took a handful of popcorn and shoved it in her mouth, giggling as a few kernels fell from her mouth and onto the floor, "Sorry, let me get those and then I'll be on my way."

"Hey, Han?" Spencer had already opened her textbook and was in the midst of making notes by the time Hanna had picked up the kernels and threw them in her trash across the room, "You're going to be alright without Caleb, okay?"

Hanna sighed, her stomach twisting at his name. She grabbed her jacket and opened the door, the warm night air brushing her face. "Yeah, well, I keep telling myself that, but so far I haven't proved it."

* * *

Hanna decided to take a walk around the park. The sun had just set and night had descended upon Rosewood, but because of all the popcorn she had just eaten at Spencer's, she wasn't particularly hungry for dinner. Her mom was working late that night anyways, so she really had no reason to go home.

She wandered aimlessly for a little while until she decided to go to the park's swing sets. She knew it would hurt, seeing as it was her and Caleb's favourite place to go when they had nothing else to do, but Hanna had come to realize that in order to get over him, she had to learn how to stop associating everything with him. She knew it would be hard, and that there would be pain and tears, but in the end, the reality was that Caleb was gone. And he was never coming back.

As she turned the corner to the swing sets, Hanna got a text. Pulling her phone out of her pocket, she read the message.

_Hey. Want to make sure we're okay. Text me back soon?_

It was from Emily. Hanna clicked her tongue and stared down at her phone as she kept walking towards the swing sets. Since her outburst at the Brew, she and Emily had been on thin ice. Neither had spoken more than a few words to each other, although every time Hanna looked at Emily, she could see pain and pleading in her eyes. Hanna inhaled a long breath through her nose. She knew it wasn't Emily's fault that her phone call with Caleb had gone so poorly, but she wasn't ready to text her back yet. When she got home, she would call her and they would work everything out.

Hanna slipped her phone back into her pocket and looked up. The swing sets were about thirty meters away, but she could make out the silhouette of someone already there, swinging alone. She couldn't see the face in the night, but the dark figure looked like a man.

Hanna narrowed her eyes and stepped forward, inching towards the swings. She wasn't sure if she should go anymore, seeing as being alone with a mysterious figure in a town as dangerous as Rosewood at night wasn't the best idea. The sound of the rusty swings creaking as the figure swung slowly, barely leaving the ground, was all that filled the otherwise silent air. The whole situation sent a shiver down Hanna's spine. As she turned to leave, her phone suddenly began to ring. The ringtone – her favorite song, Britney Spears' 'Hit Me Baby One More Time' - pierced the silence of the night, and the figure stopped swinging as it looked over to Hanna.

"Shoot," Hanna dug her phone out of her pocket. It was Emily calling. Out of her peripherals, Hanna could see the figure staring in her direction. She declined the call promptly for the sole reason of cutting her embarrassing ringtone from the air. She turned a deep shade of red as she looked in the direction of the figure. It was still staring at her as it slowly began to stand up from the swing.

"Oh God," Hanna muttered. It was coming towards her. Slowly it treaded through the sand, seeming to contemplate every step it took. Hanna cursed the fact that it was so dark and she still couldn't make out the figure's face. She turned and started to briskly walk away, but the figure began to speak. And the figure's voice made her stop dead in her tracks.

"Hanna?"

Sweet and gentlemanly.

Hanna felt as if someone had knocked the breath out of her.

"Hanna, is that you?"

It was him.

Hanna was sure.

Or was she? She thought she had seen him the day before. And she was wrong.

But this wasn't the back of his neck, his hair or his green jacket she was seeing. This was his voice, and she was _hearing _it. The same voice that she had called two weeks earlier. The same voice that hung up on her two weeks earlier. It was him. She knew his voice like she knew herself - inside and out.

"Han?"

His voice was closer, but still far enough away that she would have to walk a short distance over to him to see his face in the low nighttime light. His voice was a mixture of pleading and confused, and it caused Hanna's stomach to flop in nervous anticipation. Her heart was thumping against her chest like it never had before. Slowly, she turned around.

"Caleb?" she called. He was about fifteen meters away. They both froze as they stared across the park, frozen in a capsule of each other. Everything they wanted to say since he had left stood in the distance between them, paralyzing their limbs. Moments passed. Heartbeats. Intakes of breaths.

And suddenly, they were running.

Hanna crashed her body against Caleb's, wrapping her arms as tightly as she possibly could around his neck. She felt his strong arms hastily wrap themselves around her waist and lift her off the ground.

Caleb spun Hanna around, her legs swinging in the air. After a few moments, however, he stopped spinning and she took the opportunity to wrap her legs around his hips. She felt one of his hands move up to the back of her head and tangle in her hair while the other stayed secure on her back, holding her tightly against him. His lips were on her forehead, her cheeks, her dimples, her nose, her chin, her temples. He peppered little kisses around every part of her face, except her lips. He didn't kiss her lips. Not yet.

"I missed you so much," Caleb's voice was husky as he planted a row kisses along her jawline. "I can't live without you, Han. I tried, and I-I just can't."

The tears drizzled from Hanna's eyes as she listened to his voice and his words and felt his kisses on her face. She could feel her shirt dampen as Caleb dug his face into the crook of her neck and he let himself cry, too.

"I love you, Hanna," Caleb said, his words muffled as he cried into her shoulder. "I love you so much, and I missed you, and I c-can't believe that I'm actually holding you right now."

"I love you," Hanna breathed in reply. "I love you so much, Caleb," she rubbed his back with one hand while the other gripped onto his jacket with all the force she contained. "Why are you here?"

"I couldn't take not being with you. I was about to go to your house," Caleb pulled his head back from the crook of Hanna's neck and, for the first time in two and a half months, she was met with the warm, deep brown eyes she loved and had missed so much. "I made a deal with Jamie and my mom that if I could finish up high school in Ravenswood, I could move back here for the summer," Caleb leaned his forehead against Hanna's, just like he had done the night he left, "My mom's going to pay for me to rent an apartment down here for the next two months."

Hanna's jaw dropped. "A-are you serious?" Another bought of tears formed in her eyes and began to drip down her face. She smiled as Caleb tenderly kissed them away.

"Well, there is one condition," Caleb said softly.

"What?" Hanna inhaled through her nose, breathing in his musky scent, the scent she had missed so much.

"You have to come with me to visit her in Montecito for a week this summer," Caleb bit a small smile, "I told her yes, as long as you'd take me back." That pleading look was back in his eyes, mixed with a hint of pain and hopefulness.

Hanna was incredulous as she stared into his pleading, pained, hopeful eyes. Did he not know? Did he not know how much she missed him? How much she loved him? How quickly she would take him back? She opened her mouth in an attempt to form her inner monologue into words, but only a few incoherent stutters came out as her mind still tried to process the fact that he was_ there_, in her arms, telling her how much he loved her and how much he missed her. So, instead of speaking, with a burst of burning passion and love, Hanna knotted her fingers through his hair and crushed her lips to his.

They kissed with a fervent intensity. It reminded Hanna of their kiss before Caleb left, but in a sense it was different. The same kind of desperation and complete devotion towards each other was still there, of course, but this time instead of Hanna feeling Caleb's lips droop into a frown during the kiss, she could feel his lips curl into a smile. And she was certain he could feel hers do the same.

She felt his tears drip onto her cheeks, sliding down along with her own tears as they kissed, gripping onto each other as if the entire world was burning and they were each other's only line of safety. And when they pulled apart and Caleb leaned his forehead back against Hanna's, Hanna could only find the strength through her sudden lightheadedness to whisper the four words she had wanted to say to him every day, ever second, since he had left.

"Never let me go."

Caleb let a few more tears slip down his cheeks, "Never," he replied automatically, his voice full with ardent reassurance, "Hanna, I'm so sorry."

"Don't apologize," Hanna wrapped her legs tighter around Caleb's hips, realizing that he was still holding her off the ground, "Caleb, none of this was your fault. It was no one's fault."

"I just…I was going crazy without you," Caleb's thumb began to caress Hanna's back as he still gripped onto her, holding her up and off the ground and as close to him as humanly possible, "I didn't mean to hang up on you a few weeks ago, but just hearing your voice unexpectedly like that…" Caleb closed his eyes and shook his head, "I lost it."

Hanna moved one of her hands from his hair to his cheek, "Hey, look at me."

Caleb opened his eyes. They were soft, abundant with love for the eyes that were staring back into his.

"Emily told me I should call you to see if we left anything unsaid," Hanna caressed Caleb's cheekbone gently, "She said the reason I wasn't getting over you was because we didn't have proper closure."

Caleb frowned. "Hanna…"

"No, let me finish," Hanna inhaled deeply and let a smile begin to tug up her lips. "But now, here with you, I know that the reason I wasn't getting over you wasn't because we left things unsaid," Hanna shook her head and twirled a piece of his hair in her finger, "No, the reason every day for these past two and a half months I've felt the most miserable I've ever felt in my life isn't because we didn't have _proper _closure…it's because we didn't have closure at all. _Because we weren't supposed to_."

Caleb began to smile again. Inching his face closer to hers, he softly kissed her cheek as she continued speaking.

"You see, Caleb, we were never supposed to have closure, because we were never supposed to be apart. Closure would have meant that we were over, for good," Hanna shuddered at the thought. "But I could never get over you, because I was never supposed to."

Caleb's smile grew into a beaming grin. Neither of them said anything for moments afterwards. They let Hanna's words of truth flit and twirl in the air above them as they gazed at each other, memorizing and rememorizing what it felt like to be in each other's embrace once again. Hanna took the time to look at Caleb, _really_ look at him, for the first time in two and a half months. He looked better than she had imagined. His hair was cut shorter in the back, with longer layers framing his face. It was still long overall, but more styled than it had ever been. His face had some stubble on it, which made him look older to Hanna than he ever had. He had never let stubble grow in before, and as Hanna stared at him, unblinking, she questioned in her mind exactly _why _he never had.

Caleb finally set Hanna onto the ground after a few more minutes of each of them soaking in and marveling the other's presence. As her feet touched the pavement, he pulled her into a bone-crushing embrace.

"You're so beautiful," he whispered in her ear before pulling his head back and kissing her forehead, "So, so beautiful," he mumbled against her skin.

Hanna grinned. "You're not to shabby yourself," she traced her thumb along his stubble, "I like this."

"Yeah?" Caleb felt his cheeks turn slightly pink, "I was hoping you would."

"I do," Hanna's grin grew as she stood on her tiptoes and pressed her lips to Caleb's once more. As they deepened the kiss, Hanna could feel Caleb's lips turning up into a smile again. It made her smile, too. And when they broke apart a few minutes later, Caleb leaned his forehead against Hanna's one more time, staring into her bright blue eyes, a blazing passion burning in his brown ones.

"I'll never let you go again, Hanna," he said, repeating his words from a few minutes earlier. His voice contained a truth and a love that caused Hanna's stomach to twist in a way that made the entire universe feel lovely and peaceful and magical and perfect. And as she basked in the feeling of being in his strong arms once again for the first time in two and a half months, Hanna knew that despite the hardships to come in her life, the adversity to face and the pain to deal with, with Caleb there to take her in his arms and make her feel loved and cherished, she knew she could do anything.

* * *

**I'm so sorry that was so dang long. But now…**

**I NEED YOUR GUYS' HELP.**

**So initially I was only intending on making this a oneshot, and then as I was writing it, I was only intending on making it maybe a twoshot…but now I'm thinking it might work as a full-fledged story? However I don't know if I'd be able to keep this up as a full-fledged story and my other story, **_**Always With You **_**(which I'm currently writing the second chapter for by the way!) as well. So, basically…I need your guys' advice on what I should do! Should I keep this as a oneshot/twoshot or should I make it into a full-fledged story and neglect **_**Always With You**_** for a little while? I will finish **_**Always With You**_** eventually!**

**Please review (and maybe answer my question heh)! Good or bad, I accept it all! Reviews keep me goin'.**

**Thanks for reading! Hope you liked it!**

**- coldplaysout**


	2. UNI

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with Pretty Little Liars. This is fact is self-evident because if I **_**did**_** own anything to do with Pretty Little Liars, Caleb would sure as hell not be leaving the show for Ravenswood. **

_**A few announcements: **_

**Soooooo...if you're reading this right now then you know that I decided to make this a full-length story rather than just a oneshot! I **_**will **_**finish **_**Always With You**_**, but right now, this story is going to be my main focus. I hope you guys are okay with that!**

**This chapter is named after the song **_**U.N.I **_**by Ed Sheeran. Listen to it, it makes sense with this chapter haha. Also, I promise not everything will be named after an Ed Sheeran song! Haha.**

**Also, if any of you don't know how to play the card game "Crazy Eights" then I would suggest doing a quick Google search or else part of this chapter might be a little foreign to you. It's a really simple game, and really fun!**

**Anyways, enough of me rambling! Here we go! Hope you guys enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

"Caleb, I'm nervous."

Caleb took Hanna's hand and intertwined their fingers, frowning slightly as she anxiously bit her lip. "Why?"

Sighing, Hanna shook her head. "Nevermind, it's stupid."

"Hanna," Caleb stroked his thumb along her hand. "Tell me." His voice was sweet and warm, like honey.

Hanna inhaled loudly through her nose and felt her chest expand, holding the breath for a few moments before exhaling in a loud _whoosh_. "I'm nervous about meeting your mom and stepdad." She looked away from Caleb and stared down at the floor of the airplane as her teeth chewed her bottom lip. "But mostly your mom," she mumbled.

"Han," With his index finger, Caleb gently tugged her chin up so she was looking at him again. "Don't be nervous. She's going to love you."

"I'm the reason she got run off the road, Caleb." Hanna closed her eyes. "I feel like I need to apologize or send her a basket of fruit or something to make up for it."

"Hey," Caleb used the hand that wasn't still locked with Hanna's to caress her cheek. "Look at me." The corner of Caleb's lips tugged up as Hanna reopened her eyes. "First of all, you are not the reason my mom got run off the road. It is in no way your fault that there is a psychotic stalker after you." Caleb leaned closer to Hanna, his face only centimeters away, "Second of all, she doesn't know it was your psychotic stalker that ran her off the road, so you really have no reason to feel like you have to be in a perpetual state of apologies." Caleb kissed her lips softly before she had the chance to reply and mirrored the smile that grew on her face as he pulled away. "Understood, Miss Marin?"

"Understood." Hanna twisted a piece of hair around her index finger, a nervous habit she'd acquired in childhood. "It's still not going to make me feel any less awful about the whole situation, though."

"Well, what will?" Caleb perked an eyebrow and winked as he leaned in for another kiss. They kissed tenderly, but as Caleb opened his mouth to deepen the kiss, Hanna abruptly pulled away. An annoyed moan escaped Caleb's throat. "Hanna, why?" he whined, pouting his bottom lip and pulling her face closer to his once more.

"Caleb," Hanna smacked her lips shut and shook her head, trying her best to not succumb to his adorable pouted lip. "Your mom is paying for us to fly in first class, and I refuse to be _that _couple."

"What couple?" Caleb's voice was overtly innocent before his chocolate brown eyes flickered with slyness and his lips curled up into a devious grin. "You should show me exactly what you mean."

Hanna sighed despite the smile that crept up her lips as Caleb kissed her again. This time, she allowed him to deepen the kiss, but her mind was set on nothing more. And after a few minutes, he was the one to pull away.

"Have I told you lately how much I missed you over those horrible, horrible two and a half months we were apart?" His eyes were no longer scheming or mischievous and his voice was back to its usual honey-like sweetness. "Because I did. I missed you so much."

Hanna's smile was one of complete bliss as Caleb untwined their fingers and wrapped his arm around her shoulder, pulling her as close to him as the armrests between them would allow. "You tell me every day," she said, resting her chin on his upper arm and peering up at him. "And I missed you too. So much."

Caleb didn't reply. He simply kissed her forehead as she shifted so that instead her cheek was resting on his upper arm, allowing Caleb to rest his cheek on the top of her head. They sat like this, in idyllic silence for countless minutes as the passengers on the plane settled and the engine finally began to start.

"How long's the flight again?" Hanna asked, her voice soft.

"About five hours," Caleb replied. "It's a long one."

"Yeah," Hanna nuzzled deeper into Caleb's arm. "I can't believe you've had to do this alone more than once."

"It's not so bad." Caleb smiled and shrugged. "The first time I flew out the man next to me asked the flight attendant for a deck of cards, and we played Crazy Eights for like, three straight hours. It made the time fly." He paused for a moment. "Literally. It made the time fly. Get it?" He chuckled melodically.

Hanna giggled along with him, rolling her eyes lovingly and patting his chest. "Got it." She twisted in his arms so she could look up into his eyes. Her striking blue ones glimmered with lighthearted aggression as she continued to speak, "Do you want to play me?"

"In Crazy Eights?" Caleb scoffed playfully. "Babe, you're looking at the master of Crazy Eights."

Hanna raised her eyebrows. "So is that a yes?"

A crooked, competitive grin crossed Caleb's lips. "That's a _hell _yes."

* * *

"Pick up two."

Hanna scowled. "_Asshole_," she muttered under her breath as she picked up two cards from the deck.

"What was that, babe?" Caleb winked and reached over to caress Hanna's hand, but Hanna pulled it away immediately and shoved it in her lap.

"Don't touch me, I'm concentrating." Hanna studied her cards, narrowing her eyes as she selected one with a certain caution and precision that left Caleb biting back fits of laughter. Hanna placed down another card, leaving her with one more than Caleb: three. "Queen of diamonds."

Caleb teasingly clenched his teeth. "Sorry, Han, but…" He placed down his next card, "Queen of spades. Pick up five. Oh and, last card."

"I hate you." Hanna frowned and picked up five cards from the deck. She put down the first spade she saw she had; a three of spades.

"Don't hate the player, hate the game sweetheart." Caleb smiled triumphantly as he placed his last card, an eight of clubs, on the top of the pile. "I win."

Hanna tossed her cards down on her lap. "Screw you."

"I told you I'm good."

"I didn't know you were _that_ good."

Caleb chuckled. "Want to play again?"

Hanna sighed as she organized the cards into one neat deck. "You beat me four times in a row. I refuse to be humiliated for a fifth time. How much longer do we have anyways?"

Caleb looked at his watch. "Three hours."

"_Three hours_?" Hanna's jaw dropped as a groan left her throat. "This flight blows."

Caleb laughed as he shifted in his seat so he was facing forward once again. "How about we watch a movie?" He watched Hanna shift so she was facing forward as well. "We can watch whatever you want."

Hanna smiled. "Really?"

"Of course." Caleb pulled out the list of movies available from the pocket on the side of his seat. He handed it to Hanna, watching her as she read over the list.

"Hmmm. How about _The Devil Wears Pra_-"

Suddenly, the pilot's voice came over the speakers. "Attention, passengers. We are experiencing some maintenance troubles with our televisions. The televisions must stay off for the remainder of the flight. We're sorry for the inconvenience."

"-damn it," Hanna sighed, handing Caleb back the list. Caleb chuckled and wrapped his arm around Hanna's shoulder, kissing her temple as she muttered, "I just can't win today. Literally."

"How about we just talk," Caleb mumbled against Hanna's temple. "I have a question for you, anyways."

Hanna angled her head up, looking at Caleb. "Okay, shoot."

"Well," Caleb's eyes were suddenly wavering, darting around the airplane. "We haven't really talked about this since I came back a few weeks ago…" He trailed off as his eyes returned to Hanna's, a glint of apprehension in the brown orbs. "But, uh, what college are you going to?"

Hanna was taken aback by the question. Clearing her throat, she gently placed her hand on his lap as she replied. "Oh. Well, I haven't formally accepted anywhere yet. But I was leaning towards Parson's school of fashion design. You know that. From, um, before you left." Her words were awkward, her sentences detached. Since he had returned, Hanna hadn't given much thought to what would happen to them in the fall. If she was being honest, she still wasn't over the fact that he was back from Ravenswood and with her again.

"Ah, okay." Caleb nodded, his expression unreadable to Hanna for the first time in the span of their two-year relationship. She could usually decode him like he could decode computers – with ease and precision - but now, he kept his eyes hard and his lips in a firm line. His guard was up.

"How about you?" Hanna prodded, rubbing the space on his lap where she had placed her hand. "Are you still thinking Columbia?" Their plan, from before he had left, had been to go to different schools in the same state – New York. Hanna had decided to go into fashion, and Caleb computer science. Parson's was one of the best schools for fashion design in the world and Columbia was, besides being one of the Ivy League schools, a highly acclaimed school for computer science. Both were located in New York City. One day, earlier in the year, they had mapped out the distance between the two schools and discovered that, by subway, they were only was sixteen minutes apart. Hanna remembered so clearly the happiness that danced in the air the day they had discovered it. They had said that if both could get in to their respective schools, everything would be perfect. Hanna had gotten into Parson's, and Caleb had gotten into Columbia. So, now, Hanna was confused. Confused as to why Caleb was bringing it up, and confused as to why he was acting so uncomfortable about the whole situation.

Caleb shrugged, his guard still securely up. "I don't know anymore."

"Well…" Hanna trailed off, waiting to see if he'd speak up. He didn't. "…where else are you thinking?"

Caleb looked away. "Other places. Maybe. I don't know."

"Caleb," Hanna moved her hand up to his, lacing their fingers together. He held onto her hand tightly when their fingers locked. "Look at me. Talk to me. What's wrong?"

Caleb looked back at Hanna, and Hanna was certain she could see tears welling in his eyes. However after he blinked quickly a few times, the tears dissipated. "The thing is," Caleb sighed, using his free hand to tuck a free strand of Hanna's hair behind her ear, "My stepdad really wants me to go to Stanford."

"Stanford?" Hanna furrowed her eyebrows. "In California?" A wave of dread instantly rushed through her body.

"I haven't accepted yet, obviously," Caleb said, his words shaky. "I wouldn't do that without talking to you and to my mom and stepdad again…" Caleb sighed heavily. "But my stepdad said that he wouldn't help pay for my education unless I went to Stanford." Caleb frowned. "He went there, and he wants me to go there. It's putting my mom in an awkward position, because although she hasn't met you, she tells me how much she loves you already." Caleb smiled slightly. "You're the reason I'm back in her life, and she feels like she can never repay you for that. So she wants us to be together. But then, she wants me to be closer to home. And Stanford _is _closer to home."

Hanna stared at Caleb, unblinking. Her brain processed his words slowly, the feeling of dread intensifying in her veins. "Oh," she replied. She couldn't think of anything else to say.

"Han, I know this is a lot to take in," Caleb swallowed a lump in his throat, "But I'm working on it. I'm trying to tell him that I want to go to Columbia. That Columbia is a great Ivy League school." He lowered his voice. "That I want to be with you."

Hanna could feel her bottom lip trembling, so she bit down on it hard before she opened her mouth to speak. "Am I the reason?" she said, her voice quivering like her lip. "Don't lie to me, Caleb. Am I the reason your dad wants you to go to Stanford? To get away from me?"

"No, Hanna, of course not!" Caleb's voice was initially frantic, but it's frenzied tone instantly drifted away and his voice lowered an octave as he spoke again, "But he _did_ say that it may be better for us to be apart. To meet new people." A look of disgust crossed Caleb's face. "He's got me in a trap. He knows that unless I get a full ride scholarship I'll need a lot of financial help to go to college, but he's only willing to help out if I go to the college _he_ wants me to go to."

"When will you know if you got the scholarship?" Hanna asked, her heart pounding as she imagined life without Caleb _all over again_. Those two and a half months would be a full year. For _four _years. Hanna wasn't sure if she could handle that.

Caleb bit his lip. "What day is today?"

"June seventeenth."

"June nineteenth I find out."

"So when we're in Montecito," Hanna replied, tightening her grip on Caleb's hand. "Do you think you can get it?" Hanna knew Caleb was practically a certified genius, but to get a scholarship from an Ivy League school, Hanna also knew you pretty much had to be inhuman.

Caleb shrugged. "I don't know. I have a 4.0 GPA and my SAT score was in the 2300's. We'll just have to wait and see."

Hanna closed her eyes and leaned her head on Caleb's shoulder. "You know how earlier I said this flight blows?"

Caleb leaned his cheek on Hanna's head. "Yeah?"

"It blows more now." Hanna felt her throat tightening. "I just want to get off."

Caleb pulled their intertwined hands up to his lips and kissed Hanna's knuckles softly. "I know, babe. I know."

Hanna let out a heavy sigh. She hadn't imagined stepping onto the plane that by the time she stepped off, she would be more nervous about meeting Caleb's stepfather than his mother. She also hadn't imagined stepping onto the plane that by the time she stepped off, her relationship with Caleb might be in danger. Again.

* * *

"Holy _crap_."

"I know. It's a nice house."

"A nice_ house_?" Hanna scoffed, gesturing towards Caleb's mother and stepfather's mansion. "Caleb, this is a freaking castle!" Hanna stared up at the towering white pillars that framed the front door as a nervous lump appeared in her throat. She felt way out of her league.

Caleb set down her luggage beside the door and took her hand. "You ready?" He smiled reassuringly at her, rubbing his thumb along her knuckles.

"I, uh…I think so." Fear danced in Hanna's wide blue eyes as she looked up at Caleb.

Caleb turned his torso so he was facing Hanna. The hand that wasn't holding hers automatically went up to cup her cheek - a reflex reaction whenever he knew Hanna was in distress. "Hey, don't be nervous, okay? They're going to love you." He caressed her cheek tenderly. "They'd be insane not to. And I'll be right here beside you."

It was impossible for Hanna to not feel comforted by Caleb's gentle, loving gaze and warm touch. Smiling, she stepped up on her tiptoes and pressed her lips to his, smiling as she felt his mouth move in unison with hers. It was a short kiss, but it was enough to send a warm, tingly feeling through Hanna's body.

"I love you," Hanna said as she wrapped her arms around Caleb's torso, hugging herself close to him. "And thank you."

"For what?" Caleb replied, snaking his arms around her waist.

"Everything. Just everything."

Caleb grinned, kissing the top of Hanna's head. "You're welcome. And I love you too, sweetheart."

They stayed in each other's soothing embrace for a few more seconds before Hanna pulled away and laced their fingers together once again. Together they walked to the front door, Caleb giving Hanna one last smile and reassuring squeeze of her hand before he rang the doorbell.

"Caleb!" Caleb's mother opened the door, and her beauty instantly took Hanna aback. Her long, brown hair was blow-dried and curled to perfection – looking effortless and casual, but still radiant and chic. Her tan skin was wrinkle-free, and her makeup highlighted her almond shaped brown eyes. They were the same chocolate hue as Caleb's.

"Mom!" Caleb let go of Hanna's hand and excitedly wrapped his arms around his mother. "It's so nice to see you again. I missed you so much."

Hanna scanned his mother's outfit as Caleb hugged her. She wore a flowing blue and pink floral maxi dress that Hanna instantly fell in love with. She searched for the designer logo for a few seconds before her eyes landed on the Dolce & Gabbana symbol at the bottom seam. She had seen a dress similar to the one she was wearing on their website once. It had cost over $5,000. The feeling of being out of her league struck Hanna once again. Her throat began to tighten nervously as she watched Caleb's mother pull back from Caleb and turn her attention towards Hanna.

"And you must be the famous Hanna." She stuck her hand out, shaking Hanna's hand firmly. "I'm Claudia. I've heard so many great things about you, dear." Her smile was like Caleb's - reassuring and gentle – putting Hanna at instant ease. "Wow, you are absolutely gorgeous, darling! Caleb, look at those eyes on her! I know you told me she had beautiful eyes, but I mean, just look at them! Such gorgeous blue eyes!"

Hanna could feel blood rushing to her cheeks as Claudia gawked over her. Caleb laughed and looked into Hanna's eyes.

"I think gorgeous is an understatement, mom." Caleb said, his voice low and husky. He stared at Hanna as he spoke, and it took Hanna a moment to realize that he was only speaking directly to her. And when she did realize it, she just smiled at Caleb and bit her lip before looking to the ground, her cheeks burning red.

"Well, by any stretch, it's so nice to finally meet you, Hanna. I'm so happy I finally get to meet the lady that has my boy completely head over heels in love." Claudia smiled brightly at Hanna as Hanna looked back up from the ground.

"It's so nice to meet you too, Mrs. Dawson," Hanna replied, her eyes soaking in the monstrous, stunning foyer. "You have a beautiful home."

"Please, call me Claudia! And you should tell that to Will. This place is his pride and joy." Claudia giggled as she took a step backward and called up the stairs, "William! Caleb and Hanna are here!"

"Where are James and Clay?" Caleb asked, wondering about his little brothers.

"They're at day camp. They should be back around four, so in two hours." Claudia looked at the gold watch on her wrist. "Oh, but it's technically five p.m. for you two right now, close to dinnertime! Would you like something to eat?"

Caleb looked at Hanna, smiling at her for a moment before looking back to his mom. "Sure, mom. Can you make that garden salad you usually make when I'm here? I've told Hanna about how good it is. She needs to try it."

Hanna smiled up at Caleb, and then at Claudia. "He's right. I've heard many good things about this salad."

Claudia smiled and clapped her hands. "Yes! Great! I'll get started on that right now!" Her grin was beaming. Hanna already adored her bubbly, infectious spirit. "You guys wait here for Will to come down. I'm sure he'll be here in a minute." Claudia turned the corner, walking down the hall and to where Hanna assumed was the kitchen.

"So?" Caleb asked, taking Hanna's hands and wrapping his fingers through her fingers. "What do you think?"

"She's so nice." Hanna smiled and giggled softly as Caleb brushed his lips against the tip of her nose. "She smiles a lot. I like that."

"Well whenever I bring you up to her she always gets so excited, so I'm not surprised to see her acting like a new puppy right now." Caleb chuckled before he heard footsteps on the stairs. He and Hanna looked up and saw Will, Caleb's stepdad, descending down the grand staircase.

"Caleb, my boy!" Will hurriedly walked down the stairs and embraced Caleb, patting his back as he hugged him. Again, Hanna assessed Will like she assessed Claudia as the two of them embraced. He had a full head of brown hair, with specks of grey beginning to appear by his temples. He was wearing a tucked in dress shirt with the top button open and the sleeves rolled up, with dress pants and dress shoes on. It looked like he had just gotten home from work.

"Hanna, right?" Will said as he turned to Hanna after him and Caleb separated. He held his hand out and Hanna shook it, taken slightly off guard by the firmness behind the shake.

"Yeah, I'm Hanna. Nice to meet you, Mr. Dawson." Hanna felt awkward and nervous looking directly at him after knowing what he was holding over Caleb in terms of his education, but she tried her best to seem natural. She knew since he was in favor of them meeting other people, he probably wasn't her biggest fan, but as Hanna plastered a smile on her face to conceal her nerves and looked up at him, she vowed to change his opinion by the end of the trip.

"Oh please, call me Will. Mr. Dawson makes me sound old. And feel old." Will chortled as he let go of Hanna's hand, crossing his arms over his chest.

"How's the investment business going?" Caleb asked.

"It's good, it's very good." Will raised his dark brown eyebrows as a smile crossed his lips, "Oh, Caleb, I was emailing some Stanford alumni and they said they'd be happy to talk to you about the school. They said they could give you a tour of the campus, but since Stanford is five hours away from here and you've brought Hanna this week…" Will's eyes flashed to Hanna for a split second before moving back to Caleb. Hanna instantly felt a shiver creep under her skin as her mind registered his brief look of malice and spite towards her. "…we decided that just talking to them would be suffice."

Hanna looked up to Caleb. He looked uncomfortable, like he did on the plane when they were talking about the same subject.

"Uh, okay, Will. But you know that I haven't accepted Stanford yet." Caleb shoved his hands in his pockets. "You know that I, um, I was actually thinking Colum-"

"Well, son, we'll see, okay?" Will smiled a smile that Hanna detected as more passive-aggressive than genuine and patted Caleb's shoulder firmly before guiding them towards the kitchen. "Let's go see what Claudia's cooking up, okay?"

Caleb and Hanna exchanged a look of disdain and desperation as Will led them to the kitchen. Hanna's mouth gaped as they entered the kitchen. Of course, it was gorgeous. High ceilings mixed with stainless steel cooking instruments and granite countertops, and windows that displayed the palm trees that framed the courtyard in the back of the house – Hanna knew her mom would be in love with this house.

"Oh good, you guys are here! I'm almost done tossing the salad. You can take a seat at the table in the dining room – the next room to the left." Claudia smiled at the three of them and gestured with her head towards the dining room as they walked into the kitchen.

Hanna followed Caleb, taking the seat beside him as they sat down at the table in the next room. Will stayed in the kitchen, helping Claudia with the salad.

Caleb looked back into the kitchen, making sure Will and his mom were far enough away before he buried his face in his hands and groaned. "I really need to talk to him about this whole Stanford situation," He ran his hands through his disheveled hair. "I hope to God I get that scholarship to Columbia."

Hanna rubbed his forearm. "I do too."

"Alright, here it is!" Claudia walked into the dining rom carrying a large salad bowl. She set it in front of the couple and sighed happily. "Take as much as you'd like."

Caleb handed the salad tongs to Hanna, letting her take the first plate. Claudia took a seat across from the couple and smiled as she watched Caleb lovingly gaze at Hanna. She watched as a small smile danced on his lips and as his eyes softened, bouncing between Hanna's eyes and lips.

"Gosh, Caleb, the way you look at her," Claudia rubbed her upper arms as her smile grew, "It's giving me shivers."

Caleb immediately blushed as Hanna looked at him, handing him the salad tongs as her own cheeks flushed a bright pink. "Mom," Caleb chuckled, his voice coloured with embarrassment.

"I'm sorry, it's just…after hearing so much about you, Hanna, darling, it's so nice to finally see you and Caleb together." Her smile was one of complete content. "And to see how much you two care for each other, it just makes me so happy."

Hanna grinned as Caleb took her hand under the table, giving it a gentle squeeze. "I'm so happy to be here, Claudia," Hanna replied. "Thank you so much for inviting me. It's been a dream of mine to come to California ever since I was a kid."

"Well, you're always welcome here. I hope you know that."

"Thank you." Hanna took a bite of the salad. "Wow, this _is_ amazing. What dressing is this?"

"Citrus Vinagrette. I make it myself. It's so easy, I'll have to show you one of these nights!" Claudia replied, taking a bite as well. "I'm so glad you like it."

"Hey, where's Will?" Caleb asked, still holding Hanna's hand under the table.

Claudia took another bite, chewing and swallowing quickly before she opened her mouth to speak. "Upstairs on the phone with someone from, uh, Stanford I think?" Her eyes were suddenly wavering, uncomfortable and apologetic, darting around the room. Caleb looked at Hanna, his lips forming a grimace. Hanna squeezed his hand under the table.

"It'll be okay," she whispered. "Don't worry."

Caleb's grimaced relaxed as he felt Hanna squeeze his hand and whisper to him. He didn't say anything back, but the smile that crossed his face told Hanna he truly believed what she told him.

Now she wished that she could believe it, too.

* * *

"We moved to this place after Will became the CEO of an investment broker company here in Montecito. That was about seven years ago, so right after Clay was born."

Hanna and Claudia were washing and drying the dishes together after dinner that night. It had been a nice dinner for Hanna, not because of the delicious steak or the beautiful house she was dining in, but because she couldn't remember the last time she'd actually partaken in a family dinner. Warm laughter filled the air the entire time, and Will didn't bring up Stanford so there was no unspoken tension or unease. Hanna was also impressed with James and Clay, who were the picturesque, perfectly polite ten and eight year olds. They sort of reminded Hanna of Caleb. They had his brown eyes and his adorable smile that crinkled at their eyes and scrunched up their noses. They even shared some of the same mannerisms. After dinner, James and Clay went out front to shoot baskets, Will and Caleb went out back to put the cover over the pool, and Hanna and Claudia stayed inside, washing the dishes. Hanna hadn't stopped smiling all the while. Every minute she spent with Claudia, she liked her more.

"That's a long time," Hanna remarked, handing Claudia a sopping plate. "Must be nice, though."

"It is." Claudia smiled. "I miss Arizona sometimes, but I wouldn't trade life here in Montecito for anything. Especially now that I have my Caleb back in my life." Claudia set down her towel and gently touched Hanna's forearm, her demeanor shifting from casual to thoughtful. "Hanna, I wanted to take the time to thank you for what you've done."

Hanna set down the fork she was scrubbing in the sink and turned to face Claudia. "What do you mean?"

Claudia's eyes were warm, and her voice had the same honey-like substance as Caleb's. "You're the reason Caleb is back in my life. He told me, when he visited me for the first time, how big of a role you played in him coming to find me. He said that he wasn't even going to come if it wasn't for you convincing him. I know that you two had to be apart for a long time while he was here, but I want you to know that it wasn't without purpose. I have my baby, my firstborn, back in my life. And it's all because of you, sweetheart." Claudia's eyes welled up with tears. "So I just wanted to say thank you. Caleb tells me how much he loves you every time he's here. Even at the beginning of the year, when you guys were apart, he _still_ told me how much he loved you." Claudia took both of Hanna's hands in hers and squeezed them. "Thank you for being everything my little boy's been looking for. He deserves love in his life, and you gave it to him when I couldn't." A tear slipped down her cheek as she smiled at Hanna.

Hanna felt her own eyes sting with tears as Claudia spoke and squeezed her hands. Although she had really only known her for less than a day, instead of replying right away, Hanna decided to wrap her arms around Claudia and hug her tightly. "Thank you, Claudia."

"No, honey, thank _you_."

Hanna pulled back, and both the women giggled as they wiped away the few tears that dripped down their cheeks. "Look at us," Hanna laughed, sniffling quietly. "We're messes."

Claudia fanned her face with her hands. "Whew! I think I needed that. I know I needed to tell you that. I've been dying to ever since Caleb came to visit me for the first time last year."

Hanna simply smiled. "Well, thank your son for being everything _I've_ been looking for. Believe me, without him, I wouldn't be standing here right now." Hanna knew Claudia could never comprehend just how true that statement was.

Claudia beamed as she returned to drying the dishes. "That's so lovely to hear, darling. Thank you. He's a fine gentleman, isn't he?"

Hanna looked out the window to the backyard where she saw Caleb and Will sitting on a rock by the pool, seeming to be in deep conversation. She saw a smile light up his face, and instantly, an overbearing love for him swelled in her veins. She smiled as she replied. "Yes, he really is."

* * *

"Yeah, so then I thought about moving the horse into James' or Clay's room, but your mother _freaked_." Will erupted into boisterous laughter. "She said, 'If you _ever _bring a horse into this house again, I swear to God, Will, I will…I will…'"

"Will…will what?" Caleb spoke between fits of laughter, his cheeks hurting from smiling so much.

Will kept on laughing, clutching his stomach as he doubled over. "She didn't even finish, she just stormed out of the room! Caleb, I'm telling you, I've never seen her face so red in my life. It was the best prank I've ever pulled on her."

Caleb and Will laughed together for minutes, Caleb slapping his knee and Will continuing to clutch his stomach. The laughter drifted away eventually, however, and soon, besides the crickets, there was only silence between the two men. The sun had set and the lights around the pool had come on, romantically lighting up the backyard. Caleb thought of Hanna as he looked around. He knew he would have to bring her out there later. She would love it.

"So Caleb, I was talking to a Stanford alumni again earlier today. His name is Phillip, and he said he'd be happy to talk to you in a few days. He has a son around your age named Josh I believe? Maybe you two can meet up as well." Will crossed his arms over his chest like he did whenever he brought up the subject of Stanford. Caleb thought it seemed as though he was guarding himself, ready to put up the fight Caleb always made.

"Okay," Caleb replied slowly, considering each word before he spoke it. "But, um, Will, like I've told you before…I'm really thinking Columbia."

Will sighed, and Caleb could hear the annoyance in his breath. "Why, Caleb? Stanford has a better computer science program than Columbia. You'd be following in my footsteps. It's an amazing school. What does Columbia have that Stanford doesn't?"

Caleb narrowed his eyes, anger beginning to boil in the pit of his stomach. He kept his voice calm, though under the surface anyone could detect its threatening tone. "Look, Will, I think I've moved around enough for one lifetime. I've been in Pennsylvania for years now. I finally have a stable life somewhere. New York is a two-hour drive from home. In _Pennsylvania_. I have a home, I have friends, I have a _life_ in Pennsylvania. If I went to Columbia - which I needn't point out is an incredible Ivy League school - I'd be able to go home to Rosewood in the summers. On the weekends, I could easily drive home to Rosewood if I needed to. I can easily get home. To Rosewood. I can't do that if I'm at Stanford. Because I don't have a home here in California."

Will cracked a knuckle and stayed silent for a moment before his voice began to rise with fury. "Are you kidding me, Caleb? Look around!" He hastily gestured to the beautiful backyard. "Look where you are right now! You don't call this home?"

"Um, no." Caleb retorted, pushing himself off the rock and standing over Will. "No, Will, I don't call this home. I've come and visited four times." Caleb held up four fingers. "That's it! I don't have a life here! Everything I have, I have in Rosewood."

"This better not be about that girl," Will stood up and jabbed his finger towards the kitchen, his voice bitter with a building rage. "Because if it is, I swear to God Caleb, I will-"

"_That girl_ has a name, Will." Caleb spat, raising his eyebrows incredulously at Will's vulgarity. He had never seen him like this before.

Will pinched the bridge of his nose, exhaling loudly. "Yes, of course. Hanna seems like a great girl." He shook his head, the anger seeming to return instantly. "But you can't let her stop you from living your dream!"

"It's not my dream to go to Stanford, Will! It never has been! The only reason I even applied there was because _you _made me!" Caleb angrily ran a hand through his hair. "And Hanna is not stopping me from living my dream, alright. If I really wanted to go to Stanford, she would be the first person in line encouraging me to go. But I _don't _want to go there. I know it, she knows it, mom knows it, _everybody_ knows it. Except you!" Caleb was yelling by the end of his last sentence.

"Caleb, you're making the biggest mistake of your life! College is a time to branch out, meet new people, and network with corporations. You're not going to be able to do that cooped up in New York City on weekdays and in Rosewood every flipping weekend!" Will's face began to turn red. "Out here, you'll have me to help you get inside access to the biggest companies. With my help, you can be an intern anywhere you want as a _freshman_. Do you know how rare that is?! Do you realize how many kids would _die _to be in your position right now? I'm practically handing you a future where you make millions of dollars on a silver platter. Damn it, Caleb! Why are you being so God-damned stubborn?!"

"Because I'm not you!" Caleb's face matched the deep red shade of Will's. Rage rushed through his veins, adrenalizing his every thought and action. "I don't want that life! What is_ so_ hard to understand about that?!"

"I don't want to see my son make the biggest mistake of his life, that's why I can't understand it!"

"I'm NOT your son!" Caleb exploded. He could feel his heart pounding against his chest so hard he thought it was actually going to break right through his lungs. "I'm not anybody's son, alright?! Technically, I'm Jamie's son, but even with him since I moved back home from Ravenswood I feel disconnected! So imagine how I feel with _you._"

Will glared at Caleb, his voice lowering to a menacingly deep octave. "Tough words coming from someone who's depending on _me_ to supply their education."

"I'm _not _depending on you. I'm getting a scholarship to Columbia, and I'm going." Caleb's voice was equally as deep, equally as ominous.

"You're _maybe _getting a scholarship." Will rolled his eyes, his face slowly beginning to return to its normal shade. "You know what, Caleb, do whatever you want. I've warned you enough times of how big of a mistake you're making. I've done all I can do." He began to walk away, but after a few moments he stopped mid-stride and turned around, his glare intensifying. "Don't expect me to support your stupid decision."

Caleb felt hot, angry tears well up in his eyes. "I don't need your support," he snapped. "Financial or…or anything else." Angrily, he turned on his heels and stalked towards the house. He looked up as he reached the steps to the back door and found Hanna and Claudia standing at the door, their hands covering their mouths. They had seen it all.

* * *

"Hey, hey, Caleb, breathe."

Caleb inhaled shakily as Hanna wiped the tears that fell furiously down his cheeks. "H-he doesn't understand, Hanna. I've tried so many times to talk to him. It all…it all just erupted tonight." Caleb swallowed a lump in his throat as Hanna gently wiped his face. "God, I'm sorry for crying. I'm just, I don't know, still heated I guess."

"Don't apologize," Hanna said softly, rubbing the nape of his neck with her free hand. She sat curled up in Caleb's arms on his lap on the chair in his room. "I think you guys needed that."

Caleb strengthened his grip on Hanna. The tears slowed and his breathing turned less ragged as he closed his eyes and leaned his temple against Hanna's. "I just need him to understand."

"And maybe he will," Hanna replied. "Or maybe he won't. But if you let him make you feel this awful, he's won."

Caleb reopened his bloodshot eyes and looked at Hanna. "You're right." A smile curled up the corners of his lips despite the sorrow and anger that still twisted in his stomach. "Hey, want to take a walk with me? If you're not too tired, that is. I know it's a bit after midnight in Pennsylvania right now." He softly rubbed the part of her torso where his hands gripped onto her.

Hanna loved how gentle he always was with her. Smiling back at Caleb and running a few of her fingers through his hair, she nodded. "Sure. Let's go."

* * *

The Montecito boardwalk was still and quaint. Hanna and Caleb walked hand in hand down the wooden walkway, the salty smell of the ocean a few meters away filling the air. Although it was only nine thirty at night, there was no one else around. Hanna didn't mind. She actually preferred it this way, for Caleb's sake. She figured he wouldn't want to be around crowds in his current state.

They strolled for countless minutes in comfortable silence. Words weren't always necessary between the couple. They exchanged loving looks under the dim moonlight that said more than words ever could.

Under a faint streetlight, the couple came to a stop. They had reached edge of the boardwalk and could hear the water rushing directly underneath them. Caleb moved his hand from it's intertwined position in Hanna's and instead wrapped his arm around her shoulder, holding her close to him as they stared out at the water. The moonlight faintly shone on the water, creating a dazzling silhouette on the waves that gave Hanna shivers.

"Hey, Han, I wanted to, um, give you something." Caleb broke the content silence. Hanna looked up at him, her eyebrows knotted in confusion.

"Give me something?"

Caleb inhaled nervously, reaching into his pocket. "Yeah," he replied quietly, pulling out a small velvet ring box. Hanna gasped.

"Caleb, is that…" She couldn't finish her sentence. She suddenly forgot how to breathe.

"I'm not proposing to you, Han." Caleb chuckled gently as he opened the box. A simple delicate gold ring was nestled in the small cushion inside the soft red velvet. It took Hanna's breath away. It was beautiful. "It's a promise ring."

"Oh my gosh, Caleb." Hanna's hand flew to her chest and tears immediately stung her eyes. She blinked them back quickly, however, knowing she couldn't afford to have blurry, teary-eyed vision now.

"I was going to show it to Will and get his opinion on it before he started heckling me about Stanford." Caleb chuckled again and rolled his eyes. "Oh well. I would've showed my mom, but she just can't keep a secret."

Hanna giggled and swallowed back another bout of tears as Caleb adoringly gazed at her.

"But, anyways, I bought this the day after I got back to Rosewood from Ravenswood," Caleb continued, his fingers shaking slightly as they held the velvet box, "I wanted something to show you just how much I love you, and how I always will." Caleb smiled as he watched a lone tear stream down Hanna's cheek.

"Caleb, this is too much. You could've used the money for this towards your college fund." Hanna bit her lip, wiping away the tear that dripped down her cheek.

"Hanna," Caleb shook his head. "I wanted to. Now, do you like it?"

"Of course. It's gorgeous, Caleb." Hanna smiled as Caleb took the ring out of its pouch.

"Then, do you accept it?" Caleb asked, his eyes shining with a certain hopefulness that Hanna couldn't deny.

"Of course, Caleb." Hanna grinned. "I love you so much, and I know I always will." She leaned her forehead against his and felt his hot breath brushing against her lips. "Forever," she whispered.

"Funny you should say that." Caleb angled the ring in such a way that Hanna could read the four words engraved along the inside of it.

_I promise you forever._

"Caleb," Hanna could feel the tears shoot back up into her eyes. "I love it."

"I mean it, Hanna." Caleb kissed the tip of her nose as he watched her smile grow. "You're the best thing that's ever happened to me. And I know that no matter what happens to us, I _will_ love you forever. I promise you, no matter what," Caleb wiped away a tear that fell down her face, "No matter what Will says, what _anyone_ says, I will _always_ love you."

Hanna didn't reply, because she couldn't. Her throat was too thick and constricted with the millions of emotions and thoughts spinning in her head. So, instead, she pressed her lips to his, kissing him with a passion ignited by a newfound love that swirled through every inch of every crevice in her body. She felt this newfound love swell in her heart, flit in her stomach, and twirl through her veins as she deepened the kiss, their tongues dancing together in a way that spoke of ceaseless joy and emphatic adoration. Of course Hanna had always loved Caleb with her entire heart, but now, something was different. Something solid, something concrete, something_ infallible_ had built up around them, shielding them from the calloused world of loneliness, hatred, and sorrow. Hanna couldn't quite put words to the feeling as they kissed, but as they parted and Caleb slipped the ring onto the fourth finger of her right hand, there were only two words that she knew described the feeling that twirled and danced in her every crevice and in the salty ocean air above them:

Eternal love.

Hanna knew she would love Caleb for the rest of her life, and with this new ring on her finger, she knew he would, too. A warmness spread through Hanna that made her feel completely still, completely joyful, and completely and perfectly at peace. It was a feeling she wished to put in a jar and cherish forever, because she knew that when they got back to Caleb's house and had to face Will again, the feeling would fleet.

* * *

"That's him, right?"

"I don't know, I can barely see through this stupid dim moonlight, Josh."

"I think it is. I can see his long hair."

"_He's_ William Dawson's son? I thought his sons were, like, little."

"_Stepson_, you moron. He's the one that needs money to go to college in New York. Columbia, to be exact. The kid's practically a certified genius. William has ranted to my father about it at work before. Apparently William wants him to go to Stanford, where my dad went, but he wants to go to Columbia. William won't pay for him to go to Columbia, and he doesn't have enough money to pay his own way through."

Steve's eyes lit up. "And that's where we come in."

Josh nodded and ducked further behind the bushes as the two of them watched Hanna and Caleb walk back down the boardwalk towards the Dawson estate. "Exactly. Apparently Dawson's stepson is quite the computer and phone hacker."

"You really think he can and, more importantly, _will_ hack into the Montecito PD's computers and erase all of our charges?" Steve asked, narrowing his eyes as he watched Caleb wrap his arm around Hanna's shoulder.

Josh chortled, pulling up the hem of his shirt to reveal the gun nestled securely in the pouch hanging from his belt loop. Winking at Steve before he shielded the weapon again, he nodded his head and replied, his voice lathered in an intimidatingly threatening tone, "I don't think he really has a choice now, does he?"

"Who's that hot chick he's with?" Steve asked, licking his lips as his eyes searched the back of Hanna's body as the couple walked into the darkness.

"I don't know," Josh replied, standing up and wiping the dirt off his jeans as Hanna and Caleb disappeared into the distance. He raised an eyebrow as his malevolent brain began calculating Hanna into the equation. Winking at Josh again as his hand hovered over the gun, the two men began to walk in the opposite direction as Hanna and Caleb. "But I have a feeling she'll come in handy."

* * *

**Omg I don't know how this was longer than the first chapter, but if you made it to the end of this then I commend you because boy, it was long. I'm terrible at ending these things so I just keep on writing and writing and writing until I have to force myself to think of a suitable ending. So yeah, I'm sorry. But nonetheless I hope you all enjoyed it! **

**Review if you liked it or review if you hated it, I love constructive criticism!**

**Thanks for reading! See you all next chapter!**

**- coldplaysout**


	3. Whatever It Is

**Hi all! Sorry this took like, 9 years to publish. But life gets in the way, ya know? I've been super busy and honestly, sort of unmotivated, but here it is! Hopefully next chapter won't take as long!**

**Disclaimer: Yeah I don't own nuthin'.**

**Oh, and the title of this chapter is named after the song "Whatever It Is" by Zac Brown Band. Listen to it; it's an adorable song that I think describes Hanna and Caleb almost perfectly.**

**Here we go! Hope you all enjoy it!**

* * *

"Will, you need to take a breath. Caleb is an adult. He can make his own decisions." Claudia placed her hand on her husband's shoulder. "You need to let him go to whatever college he wants to go to. Columbia is a great school."

Will sighed, anger from his and Caleb's fight only a few minutes before still brewing in his chest. "Claudia, he doesn't realize how much he's giving up by not choosing Stanford."

Claudia narrowed her eyes, chewed her bottom lip and shook her head. "No, Will. He does." The couple sat on the loveseat in the living room that overlooked the front garden and driveway. Together they gazed out the window and watched as Hanna and Caleb walked up the driveway, back from their trip to the boardwalk. A small smile appeared on Claudia's lips as she watched Caleb tenderly kiss Hanna's temple as the couple strolled to the door, his arm wrapped tightly around her shoulder. "I don't think _you_ realize how much he's giving up by not choosing Columbia."

* * *

"Caleb, sweetie, can we talk to you for a moment?" Claudia smiled gently from the loveseat in the living room as Caleb and Hanna stepped in the house.

Caleb looked down at Hanna through desperate and tired eyes. Reassuringly Hanna smiled and nodded her head, whispering quietly, "Go," before gesturing towards his mother and stepfather.

Even the smallest of Hanna's assurances made Caleb feel better. Caleb smiled back at her before he walked into the living room and took a seat on the couch opposite his mother and stepfather. Before anyone began speaking, Hanna poked her head in the room.

"I'll be with James and Clay at the basketball court."

Caleb nodded before returning his attention back to his mother and Will. He avoided eye contact with Will and instead opted to stare at the floor a few feet in front of his feet.

"Look, Caleb, I'm sorry for what happened." Will said, breaking the momentary silence. "I still think you're making a mistake, but I was out of line. And I apologize."

Caleb looked up, his eyes darting between his mother and Will before settling on Will. "You _were_ out of line," he replied, his voice cold. "You insulted me, my hometown, and most importantly, my girlfriend." Caleb narrowed his eyebrows in calloused anger and shook his head. "I can't just pretend like you didn't."

"Look, Caleb, everyone says things they don't mean when they're angry," Will replied, his voice even. "I only want what's best for you, and in my opinion, Stanford is what's best for you."

Caleb inhaled and exhaled slowly, settling the anger he felt beginning to boil once more. "That's what you don't understand, Will," he said. "You don't understand that what's best for you might not be best for me."

"What school is Hanna going to?" Claudia interjected.

"She's thinking either Parson's or The Fashion Institute. But she's leaning more towards Parson's. For fashion design."

Will nodded slowly. "And both those schools are in New York City?"

Immediately Caleb knew where the conversation was going, but he had already dug himself too deep to get out. "Yes, Will. Both are in New York City. Where Columbia happens to be located as well." His voice was lathered with sassiness.

Claudia laced her fingers together and leaned her forearms on her knees. Her voice was gentle as she spoke. "Caleb, honey, I need you to be honest with us. Is the only reason you're so set on going to Columbia because Hanna will be closer to you?"

Caleb sighed heavily, crossing his arms over his chest. He knew this was going to be brought up at some point. "I'd be lying if I said no, but I'd also be lying if I said yes."

Will's eyebrows knotted. "Care to elaborate?"

Caleb relaxed into the sofa, running his hand through his hair and smoothing it down at the nape of his neck. "Look, mom, Will, I love her."

"Caleb…" Will began to shake his head.

"Will, please. Let me finish." Caleb cleared his throat and leaned foreword, his forearms resting on his knees like his mother. "Look, I love Hanna. You guys have to understand that. You have to understand that…that it's not some stupid high school puppy love that I'm going to get over with a snap of my fingers at the end of the summer." Caleb shook his head. "No, it's not that." He bit his bottom lip, his voice gentle as he thought of Hanna. "I love her, mom, Will. I'm _in_ love with her. I knew it the moment I met her." A smile crept up his lips as he paused, contemplating his next words. "When I'm with her, I feel like I have a reason to live. She makes me happier than I've ever been in my entire life. She makes me a better person." The smile curled up, growing as he continued to speak. "There's never a moment when I look at her that I don't think about how much I love her. There's never a moment when I hold her that I don't think about how lucky I am that I'm the one who gets to do that. To hold her, comfort her, keep her warm…" Caleb's cheeks flushed a soft shade of pink. "We've had time apart, and we've all seen how well that's worked out." A grimace flashed through his features. "But our time apart has made it clear to me - not that it wasn't already clear before - that Hanna is the one person in my life I can't stand to lose. We've been through more together than anyone can really understand, but I guess what I'm asking is that you guys try and understand." Caleb exhaled loudly and relaxed his tense muscles.

"Caleb…" Claudia wiped a tear that had welled up as her son spoke. "That's very beautiful."

"But, that all being said…" Caleb continued.

"There's a but?" Will asked incredulously.

"But," Caleb looked to Will as he spoke; "I've wanted to go to Columbia since I was a kid. Since before I met Hanna. So yes, while it is a plus that I'd be closer to Hanna, it's not the reason I chose the school."

"Uh…" Will hesitated. "That's all well and good, Caleb, but it still doesn't change my feelings on Stanford. Won't you just meet with Phillip, one of the Stanford alumni's, for one hour? That's all I'm asking. One hour of your time."

Sighing heavily, Caleb leaned back on the soft pillows. "Fine," he said, his voice reluctant. "Fine. I'll meet with him. For one hour, that's it."

Will smiled. "Great, that's great Caleb. I think he said he's free the day after tomorrow. Oh, and maybe you and Josh, his son around your age, can meet up too."

Caleb crossed his arms, his lips turning into a deep frown. "Will…"

"Phillip told him about you. Most of his friends are gone for the summer. He said he'd love to meet you tomorrow. Please, Caleb?" Will clasped his hands together, pleading his stepson. "He would love it. Phillip would love it. I would love it."

It took all of Caleb's strength to not roll his eyes. "Only if I can bring Hanna."

Will's smile widened as he nodded vigilantly. "Yes. Yes, of course. Bring whoever or whatever you want." He sighed happily. "Phillip is going to be thrilled."

Caleb looked at his mom. "Can I go back to Hanna, now?"

Claudia's gaze softened as her and her son made eye contact. "Yes, go to your girlfriend."

Caleb pushed himself off the couch, heading out back to the basketball court.

"Well, that wasn't as terrible as I thought," Will remarked as Caleb shut the door.

"No, it wasn't," Claudia replied. "He really loves her, Will."

Will sighed, forming his lips into a small circle and blowing out the air in a small puff. "I know," he said. "Now, I know."

* * *

"What's my score again?"

"Seven." Clay giggled as he dribbled the basketball. "I'm at twenty and James is at eighteen."

Hanna smiled at Clay's melodic laugh. "And we're playing to twenty one?"

"Yeah," James replied instead of Clay, concentrating as he watched his younger brother dribble the ball in preparation of take his shot. "That's why the game is called 'Twenty One'."

"Oh." Hanna blinked. "That makes sense."

"If I make this shot, I win the game." Clay's smile broadened as he spun the basketball in his hands, bending his knees as he positioned his arms, ready to fling the ball into the net. A moment passed as his arms locked, his wrists loosened, and he let the ball fly. Hanna and James watched with intent as the ball soared through the air before bouncing off the rim and rolling onto the grass behind the court. Hanna smiled sympathetically as Clay frowned. "Dang it," he whispered.

"It's alright, bud." Hanna wrapped her arm around Clay's tiny shoulders. "At least your score is in the double digits."

Clay's frown faded as another giggle escaped his lips. "That's true."

"Ugh, now I have to take my shot from here, thanks Clay!" James' voice dripped with sarcasm as he stood on the grass behind the court, arcing his neck to see just how he would attempt a shot when standing directly behind the net.

"Sorry James." Clay shrugged as James flung the ball over the net, missing the basket completely.

"Air ball," James muttered as he walked back onto the court. "That means Hanna, you get to shoot from wherever you want."

Clay handed Hanna the ball. Hanna smiled as she walked up directly in front of the net. Dribbling twice for good measure, she took the shot, watching as the ball effortlessly swished through the basket.

"Yay!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands as she caught the ball and turned to James and Clay. "So now I have eight points?"

"Right," James replied. "Now you have to shoot from the line we drew at the beginning of the game and if you get that in, you get two more points and you get to shoot from the line again until you miss."

"We told you this before we started playing, Hanna," Clay said knowingly, although a sweet smile played on his lips.

"Clay, don't be rude," James shook his head at his little brother.

Clay blushed, looking sheepishly up at Hanna. "I'm sorry, Hanna. I didn't mean to be rude."

Hanna smiled at the little eight and ten year old boys, ruffling Clay's hair. "Don't worry, bud, no offense taken." She took a step back so her toes were just behind the white, chalky line. Looking at the net before dribbling twice, Hanna shot the ball out her hands, watching as it hit the side of the backboard and bounced away. She giggled at her complete lack of athletic ability as she watched Clay chase after the ball and snatch it before it could get too far away from the net.

"Okay, once again, if I make this, I win." Clay chewed his bottom lip as he dribbled the ball, his eyes boring into the net as he concentrated on making the basket. Letting the ball fly from his hands a moment later, he, Hanna, and James watched as the ball soared through the air, landing directly in the basket with a crisp swoosh of the mesh.

Hanna grinned as she watched Clay's face morph into an expression of complete elation. He cheered and clapped his hands, his smile beaming with pride and joy.

"Yay, Clay!" Hanna exclaimed, laughing as Clay ran into her arms, hugging her tightly.

"Congrats, Clay," James patted his brother's back, straining his voice to not sound entirely bitter. "Although you're younger than me, you're a great basketball player."

"Really?" Clay's eyes lit up at the sign of approval from his older brother, who Hanna assumed he held in high esteem. "Thanks, James!" Clay hugged his big brother before picking up the ball and dribbling it with a newfound vehemence around the court.

"You still did awesome, James." Hanna wrapped her arm around James' shoulder, comforting the little boy.

"Thanks, Hanna. It means a lot." James smiled up at Hanna. "I like having you here."

The already wide grin on Hanna's lips grew. "Thanks, James." She squeezed his shoulder and felt him place his arm around her upper back. "I like being here."

"Hey, get your hands off my girlfriend, James."

James giggled as Caleb walked onto the court and began tickling him, causing him to run away to the other side of the court where Clay was, practicing his three pointers.

"Hey." Hanna smiled as Caleb wrapped his arm around her lower back. "How long have you been standing there?" Hanna gestured to the patio overlooking the court.

"Since James had to take that shot from behind the net," Caleb chuckled, kissing Hanna's temple. "You're not the best basketball player, sweetheart," he mumbled against her head.

Hanna sighed, her cheeks flushing a faint shade of pink. "I know, I know. I have zero athletic ability."

"But you're so good with them," Caleb looked towards his little brothers, watching as James gave Clay dribbling tips before looking back down at Hanna. "So, so good with them."

"They make it easy." Hanna shrugged lightly, a smile dancing on her lips. "They're practically angels." She closed her eyes as Caleb planted another kiss, this time on her forehead. "Hey, what did your mom and Will want?"

Caleb sighed. "Stupid Stanford stuff, of course. I have to talk with Phillip, one of the Stanford alumni and I think one of the guys Will works with, the day after tomorrow."

"Isn't that the day you see if you got your scholarship to Columbia?" Hanna asked.

"Yeah." Caleb let out a heavy breath. "Oh, and Will wants us to hang out with Phillip's son, Josh, tomorrow. He's around our age and apparently most of his friends are gone for the summer." Caleb pursed his lips. "I guess he's lonely or something."

Hanna nodded. "Alright, that's fine." She twisted the ring on her right hand around, changing the subject to her new piece of jewelry. "I love this, Caleb. I know I said it like, a hundred times on the way home from the boardwalk, but I want you to know, _really_ know, just how much I love it." She looked up at him, her eyes full with adoration. "And just how much I love you."

Caleb's lips curled up into a grin. "I love you too, princess."

Hanna paused, her jaw dropping. "_Princess?_" She let out an incredulous, teasing laugh. "Wow, I haven't heard that one since grade eleven detention!"

Caleb blushed. "Well, I always call you sweetheart, so I thought I'd change it up."

"Why? I like sweetheart." She leaned her head on Caleb's shoulder, closing her eyes as warm satisfaction rushed through her body feeling his hand rub her back.

"Okay, _sweetheart_." Caleb laughed. "Sweetheart it is."

Hanna giggled softly, wrapping her right arm around Caleb's lower back and her left one around the front of his torso. She lifted up the bottom of his shirt and gently rubbed the scar from when he had gotten shot on his lower abdomen.

"You know, after eight months, that still tickles." Caleb giggled softly as he felt Hanna's delicate fingers run over the scar.

Hanna looked up at him. "Really?"

"Yeah. It's a weird sensation." He chuckled as a big yawn escaped Hanna's lips. "Am I boring you?"

"No, no." Hanna shook her head. "I'm just tired, that's all."

Caleb looked at his phone for the time. "Oh yeah, it's almost eleven. That means it's almost two a.m. our time." He slipped his phone into his pocket. "Want to go to bed?"

Hanna nodded sleepily, resting her head back on Caleb's shoulder and closing her eyes. Caleb smiled at her sleeping face and kissed the top of her head before turning his neck towards his little brothers.

"Hey, guys, time for bed. You have to be up early for camp tomorrow."

James and Clay nodded obediently and set the ball down in the bin beside the court before running into the house. Caleb sighed contentedly and turned his attention back to Hanna, whose eyes were still closed and whose head was still resting on his shoulder.

"Hey, did you fall asleep on me?" Caleb whispered quietly. Hanna didn't open her eyes but shook her head, her hair ruffling against his shoulder. Caleb chuckled as the couple walked up the patio and into the house, Hanna only opening her eyes when he told her they had to go upstairs.

"Where am I sleeping?" Hanna asked, standing beside Caleb's bed as they walked into his room and he collapsed on it.

Caleb wrapped his arms around Hanna's legs and pulled her down onto the bed with him, wrapping his arms tightly around her body as a quiet giggle left her throat. "If I had it my way, right about…_here_."

"But, we're doing it_ my_ way." Claudia walked in Caleb's room carrying a pillow, smiling at the laughing couple. "Hanna, there's a guest room just across the hall from here." She pointed to the room directly across from Caleb's room. "You can stay in there."

Timidly Hanna smiled and blushed as she nodded and stood up, releasing herself from Caleb's embrace. Taking the pillow Claudia handed to her, she grabbed her luggage and looked back at Caleb before exiting the room. "Goodnight Caleb. Goodnight Claudia," she said, smiling at both mother and son before turning her back and walking into the guestroom.

"Goodnight sweetheart," Caleb replied, watching as Hanna twisted her neck and winked at him before closing the door to the guestroom.

"Alright, time for bed, mister," Claudia patted her son's shoulder before turning around and exiting the room. "Goodnight," she said as she stepped into the hallway, smiling sweetly at Caleb.

"Goodnight mom." Caleb waited until his mom closed the door before stripping off his shirt and shorts, leaving only his boxers on. He walked to the bathroom down the hall, leaving the door open as he splashed his face with water before picking up his toothbrush and toothpaste, brushing his teeth.

"Fancy meeting you here." Hanna walked in the bathroom carrying her toiletries bag, groaning as she eyed her boyfriend's shirtless body. "Damn," she whispered in his ear.

Caleb grinned teasingly as he rinsed his mouth and placed his toothbrush back in its cup. Turning around, he took in Hanna's appearance. Her wavy blond hair was up in a high messy ponytail, and she was wearing a skintight grey tank top with plaid, short pajama shorts. "You're quite _damn_ yourself, my dear." He snaked his arms around her waist and kissed her gently, slipping his tongue through her lips.

"Alright, Rivers, time to get out," Hanna spoke gently when they parted a minute later. "I really have to pee."

Chuckling, Caleb kissed her forehead quickly before exiting the bathroom and closing the door behind himself. He climbed into bed and pulled his phone out, waiting until he heard Hanna tiptoe back into her room before typing a text message to her.

_Open your door._

A moment after he sent the text, the door to Hanna's room opened. Hanna grinned as, from her bed in the guestroom, she clearly saw Caleb in his bed in his room. She waved as she laid her head down on the pillow, her and Caleb gazing lovingly at each other across the hall from their respective beds in their respective rooms.

_I would say something, but I don't want to be too loud and wake James and Clay._ Hanna typed to Caleb, still gazing at him as she sent the text.

_It's okay. Just wanted to see your face. If you need anything in the night don't hesitate to wake me up._

Hanna smiled at the text, nodding at Caleb across the hall. She began to type again.

_I will. I'm really tired; I'm going to sleep. Love you xxx_ She smiled at Caleb one last time before setting her phone down and closing her eyes. As Caleb received her text, he smiled at her peaceful, sleeping face.

_Love you too, sweetheart._ He knew she was already asleep, but he texted her back anyways. Setting his phone down as well, he gazed at Hanna, watching her chest rise and fall in serene rhythm before eventually he too, fell asleep, his last sight and his last thought of her.

* * *

"So his name is Josh?" Hanna and Caleb walked along the boardwalk the next day, the noon sun beating down on their bare faces and shoulders.

"Yeah," Caleb replied, carrying the beach bag that contained water, sandwiches, towels, and sunscreen. "I'm sorry we have to do this, it's just, Will was basically groveling to me. He wouldn't have stopped unless I said yes."

"Don't worry." Hanna linked her arm through Caleb's as they strolled onto the sand. The beach was already packed, crowded with children, teenagers, adults, and even elderly people in the more shady areas. She scanned the beach before she spotted an open patch of sand about fifteen meters away from the water. "Wanna go there?"

Caleb nodded and the two of them padded through the sand. He laid two towels out, one for him and one for Hanna.

"Spray me?" Hanna asked, holding out the sunscreen after she displaced her tank top and shorts. Caleb raised his eyebrows at her black string bikini, winking as he snaked his arms around her waist, ignoring her request completely.

"I may have to do a little more than spray," he whispered huskily, his breath tickling her lips. Before Hanna had the chance to reply, Caleb's mouth was on hers, tackling it with a force and passion that initially shocked Hanna. As she recovered from her shock she smiled, returning the kiss and deepening it as she pressed her body close to his.

"We should stop, people are probably staring," Hanna mumbled against his lips. As he groaned and leaned in for another kiss, she felt his hands creep closer and closer to her bottom bathing suit.

"Let them stare," Caleb whispered before capturing Hanna's lips in his once more. He felt Hanna's arms wrap around his neck, her fingers toying with the neckline of his tank top.

"Alright, spray me before I burn," Hanna said as they parted for the second time. Elatedly Caleb smiled at her before taking the sunscreen from her hand and spraying it on her back, gently rubbing it in.

"Your turn." Hanna turned around and watched as Caleb removed his shirt. She tried not to stare at his abs, but she couldn't help stealing one glance. She hoped Caleb wouldn't notice, but he did.

"Enjoying the view?" He winked, his voice teasing. Hanna blushed as she motioned for him to turn around. She sprayed his back thoroughly and as he turned back around, she sprayed his chest and his abdomens as well.

"Alright, time to relax. Josh is coming at twelve thirty right?" Hanna asked as she laid down on one of the towels. Caleb took a seat on the towel beside her.

"Yeah. Will told Phillip that we'd meet him at the snack bar."

"Well, we still have a bit less than half an hour before we have to go meet him." Hanna sighed as she placed her sunglasses over her eyes and rested her hands down by her sides, the sun's rays soaking into her skin.

"We do," Caleb nodded and stared out into the ocean, watching the surfers ride the waves. "Hey, want me to teach you how to surf later today?"

Hanna immediately sat up. "Uh, is it safe?"

Caleb chuckled. "Yes. I've been surfing for a long time. Only if you want to, though."

Hanna chewed her lip, hesitating. "Well, I kinda have a fear of getting stuck underwater. And surfing those big waves," she gestured towards the ocean, "wouldn't really help that fear."

Caleb smiled and nodded, reaching over and patting Hanna's shoulder. "It's alright, don't worry. I can surf on my own."

Hanna smiled back at him and laid back down on the towel. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry." Caleb laid down too, twisting his neck so his left ear was resting against the towel and he was gazing at Hanna, whose eyes were closed underneath her sunglasses. They sat in silence, comfortable and loving, for the rest of the time until they had to meet Josh at the snack bar.

* * *

Exactly twenty-five minutes later, the young couple walked hand in hand to the snack bar, Hanna wearing her tank top and shorts once again and Caleb wearing his tank top and bathing suit bottoms. Standing a few feet away from the line, they waited, searching the crowds of people.

"Apparently he'll be wearing a Stanford baseball cap." Caleb tried not to roll his eyes, but Hanna caught the slight flick of his brown orbs.

"Alright," she replied, searching for a Stanford baseball cap in the crowd. After five minutes of searching, however, she turned towards Caleb, wrapping her arms around his torso and resting her head against his chest. "I'm tired of looking."

Caleb grinned and wrapped one of his arms around her lower back, his other arm angled up so his hand could shield his eyes from the sun beating down as he continued to search. Another five minutes passed and the Stanford cap was nowhere in sight.

"Where is he?" he muttered, groaning as he continued to search. Another five minutes passed before he felt a tap on his shoulder.

"Caleb Rivers?" the voice said before Caleb had a chance to turn around. When he did, however, he was met with a Stanford cap and a pair of bright blue eyes. "Hi, I'm Josh."

Caleb smiled as Hanna detached herself from him and smoothed the front of her shirt down. "Hi, Josh, nice to meet you." He kept his hand on Hanna's lower back. "This is my girlfriend, Hanna."

"Hi," Hanna said, waving as she took in Josh's appearance. From under the Stanford cap she could see wisps of blond hair sticking out by his ears. He had dazzling blue eyes and a wide, white grin that reminded her of Sean. But his smile was more genuine and easeful than Sean's ever was.

"Hanna and I are set up down on the beach if you'd like to join us," Caleb said, linking his hand through Hanna's as the three of them walked down to the beach. Once they reached their spot, Josh laid his towel down beside Caleb's and removed his shirt.

"So, you're thinking Stanford, huh?" Josh said as he laid down beside Caleb.

"Uh, well…" Caleb glanced at Hanna before looking at Josh. "Not really. I'm actually really thinking Columbia."

"Ah, I see. Is your stepdad pushing you towards Stanford?"

"Kinda, yeah."

Josh rolled his eyes. "My dad is doing the same. I really want to go to Duke, but he wants me at Stanford since he went there. He practically forced this thing upon me this morning." Taking the Stanford cap off his head he tossed it aside, ruffling his short blonde hair that had flattened slightly because of it.

Caleb let out a hearty, relieved laughed. "My stepdad is exactly the same, dude!" He leaned up on his elbows as him and Josh chuckled together. "I find out tomorrow if I get a scholarship to Columbia. If I do, I'm going."

Josh crinkled his eyebrows. "And if you don't?"

Sighing and running a hand through his disheveled hair, Caleb shrugged. "Then, I don't know. I won't have enough money to put myself through four years at Columbia. And my stepdad is only willing to help out if I go to Stanford." He tried not to get angry all over again at the ultimatum Will had pushed him into. "So it's kind of a sticky situation."

"Well, I'm sure you'll get the money from..." Josh trailed off, twisting his neck around, as if he was looking for somebody. "...somewhere."

Hanna had noticed the twist of Josh's neck, but Caleb hadn't. She'd found it sort of strange. She narrowed her eyes at him as she contemplated the meaning behind his action as his neck twisted back and his bright blue eyes landed on her narrowed ones. She immediately relaxed her facial muscles as he smiled that genuine, easeful smile at her. But as she smiled back at him, she noticed something underneath the smile. Something underlying, something masked that, Hanna couldn't quite figure out why, sent a crippling chill down her spine.

* * *

"Be safe."

"I will." Caleb smiled at Hanna, the surfboard he had rented secured underneath his right bicep as he turned on his heels and walked towards the ocean. Hanna sighed as she watched him walk away, admiring the way his muscles flexed as he treaded through the sand.

"So how long have you and Caleb been together?" Hanna, Josh and Caleb had been lounging around for a few hours, the couple bonding with Josh almost immediately. As he spoke, Josh pushed his sunglasses up onto the top of his head and looked over at Hanna. Caleb's towel was in between them, separating them by a foot.

"About two years." Hanna leaned back on her elbows, allowing her toned stomach to get tanned. She looked over at Josh. "We've broken up a few times but," she secretly twisted the ring around the fourth finger of her right hand, "not anymore."

"That's nice." Josh leaned back on his elbows as well, tilting his head towards Hanna. "So I hear Caleb is really into computers?"

Hanna nodded. "Yeah, he's a computer and cellphone whiz. And just a genius all around." She smiled. "He's pretty great. I'm lucky to have him."

"Hmm." Josh pursed his lips as his gaze shifted to the ocean. "He's lucky to have you, too."

Hanna shifted on her towel, her cheeks flushing faintly. She began to shake her head. "Nah..."

"He is." Josh looked over at her, his stare piercing. "You're gorgeous."

"Thanks." Hanna blinked and looked away; suddenly feeling uncomfortable and too revealing in her bikini as Josh continued to stare at her. She looked out into the ocean, hoping to catch a glimpse of Caleb, but he was out of sight - too far deep into the waves.

"You live in Rosewood, right?"

Hanna stopped herself from replying as her mind questioned exactly _how_ Josh had known her hometown. "Uh, yeah. How do you know that?"

"William mentioned it to my dad."

"Oh."

"Got any siblings?"

"No, I'm an only child. Well, I have a stepsister, but we don't really…" Hanna trailed off, searching for a word to aptly describe her monster stepsister, Kate. "We're not close."

"Ah," Josh nodded. "I see. That's unfortunate."

"I guess."

"Where are you planning on going to college?"

"Parson's, it's a fashion design school in New York City."

"Close to Columbia?"

"Yeah, close to Columbia."

"So if Caleb doesn't get this scholarship, what are you going to do?"

Hanna raised her eyebrows as she sat up and crossed her arms over her bare stomach. Josh's questions were becoming too uncomfortable, too intrusive. "I don't know." She narrowed her eyes, testing him. "Why?"

Nonchalantly Josh shrugged. "Just wondering." He paused, the nonchalant demeanor shifting. "Just wondering how deeply you two love each other, how far either of you would go to stay together."

Hanna winced, her voice tense. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Josh leaned close to Hanna, his arm now resting on Caleb's towel as his head cocked towards her body. He spoke in a low voice, its menacing undertone frightening Hanna to her core. "What if I told you that I could guarantee Caleb the money he needed to go to Columbia?"

"What…" Hanna looked to the ocean again, Caleb nowhere in sight. "What do you mean?"

Josh narrowed his eyes. "I'm saying, if Caleb could do something for me and my buddy Steve, he would have enough money to get him through four years at Columbia. And then some."

"What would you want him to do?"

"My buddy Steve and I have some charges that we'd like erased from the Montecito PD's files." Josh's lips curled up devilishly as he kept his voice low, his face uncomfortably close to Hanna's. "If your lover Caleb could erase those files with whatever voodoo computer hacking skills I hear he has plenty of, Steve and I could pay his way through college."

A chill crept through Hanna's skin as she pushed herself up, crossing her arms as she stood up. "No way in _hell_ is Caleb doing anything criminal for you and your friend. Besides, he's going to get the scholarship and won't need to."

Josh put his hands up defensively, sliding his body back onto his own towel. "It's just an option." He winked seductively at Hanna. "Think about it, _sweetheart_."

_Sweetheart._ Another chill, more crippling than the one before, rushed through Hanna's body as her mind processed that he had been listening. He had been there. In the bushes, near Caleb's family's basketball court. How else would he have known Caleb's nickname for her? A wave of nausea settled in her stomach as Hanna looked away from Josh, desperately searching for Caleb, her security blanket, in the ocean.

"Oh and Hanna?" Josh's voice returned to it's normal, less threatening tone as he slid his sunglasses down onto his face once again. "You have to be the one to tell Caleb about this little, _prospect_, if you will."

Hanna's jaw clenched. "Why can't you? Too afraid?"

Josh scoffed. "No, not afraid. But the chances of him doing it if I ask him are low. The chances of him doing it if _you _ask him are almost guaranteed."

Hanna rolled her eyes, masking the fear of Josh she felt slithering through her veins. "Let it go, Josh. He's not going to do this for you, because he's not going to have to. He's going to get the scholarship and he's going to be fine."

Again, Josh put his hands up defensively. "Like I said, _think about it_."

"Hey guys, oh man that was incredible!" Caleb ran up to Hanna and Josh, his surfboard underneath his dripping wet bicep. His long hair was soaked, strands sticking to his cheeks as he came to a halt beside Hanna. "The waves are awesome today. Why are you standing up, Han?"

Hanna sighed, relief washing away some of the fear of Josh she felt as Caleb kissed her temple quickly. "I…I don't feel well." She looked towards Josh, her stare callous. "Can we go home?"

Caleb ran a hand through his wet hair as he looked from Josh to Hanna. Josh shrugged lightly at Caleb as they made eye contact. "Uh, sure, Han. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I just…" Hanna grabbed her shirt and slipped it on. "I need to get out of the sun and into some air conditioning."

"Okay, give me a second." Caleb placed his surfboard down and grabbed his towel from beside Josh, drying his body off. "Sorry Josh. Want to hang out another day?"

Josh's eyes flickered to Hanna. "Sure. How about tomorrow afternoon?"

Caleb looked to Hanna before answering, but she avoided his gaze, looking down at the sand. "Sounds good. We can do lunch at the pier. How about around noon?"

Josh smiled. "Great. See you guys then. I'm just going to stay here and get some more sun. I'm too pale," he chuckled. "Nice meeting you guys."

"Nice meeting you too, dude." Caleb threw his shirt over his body as Hanna quickly packed up their beach bag, turning on her heels without a goodbye to Josh.

"Bye, Hanna!" Josh shouted as Hanna and Caleb began to walk away. Hanna closed her eyes as she heard his sickening voice and leaned her head against Caleb's shoulder, pretending not to hear him, pretending, just for this moment, that she had never met him.

* * *

"Are you ready?"

"I think so. Are you?"

"I think so."

Caleb grabbed Hanna's hand on his lap, gripping onto it tightly. It was the morning after their day at the beach with Josh. Hanna had woken up that morning with an unshakable fear rushing through her body. In the first moments of her waking up, she had forgotten why. Then, as she blinked groggily and the gears of her mind began turning again, she had remembered that for two reasons, she had a sustaining, growing fear swirling through her body: Josh, and Caleb's scholarship. Yes, it was the day Caleb found out if he got the scholarship to Columbia. She had stepped out of bed and peered into his room, finding him sitting at his desk with his laptop, nervously fiddling with his thumbs. Slipping on her socks, she had padded into his room, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and kissing him on the cheek. He had told her he had been waiting for her to wake up before he checked his email. So, she had taken a seat beside him, and he had smiled anxiously at her. He had told her that he hadn't let his mother or Will come in, because he wanted, for the first few minutes, for it to be just him and Hanna. He had then asked her if she was ready, and gripped onto her hand tighter than he ever had before.

"Here we go," he muttered under his breath, closing his eyes as he clicked on the email he had received in the wee hours of the morning from Columbia. Hanna squeezed her eyes shut, too, her heart thumping hard and fast against her chest.

"Are your eyes open?" Caleb asked.

"No, are yours?"

"No." His voice was sheepish. Hanna giggled, although she was shackled by fear.

"Surely the email would have loaded by now." She kept her eyes shut. "Should we open ours eyes?"

"Okay. On three?"

"Okay. One…"

"Two…"

"Three." Hanna and Caleb's eyes flew open, Caleb leaning forwards immediately as he read the email. Hanna looked away, her breathing turning shallow and quick as Caleb silently read the letter.

"I…I got…"

"You got it?!" Hanna looked back up to find a completely foreign expression on Caleb's face. His face was twisted in either a look of bliss or devastation. She couldn't tell.

"I got a partial scholarship." Caleb's voice quivered as he slammed shut his laptop.

Hanna's heart dropped. She felt intensely nauseous all of a sudden as she watched tears well up in his eyes. "What - what does that mean?"

"It means I…" Caleb wiped a tear that slid down his cheek. "I got a hundred thousand dollars, but I need another hundred thousand to be able to get through four years. A hundred thousand only gets me through two." He lowered his face into his hands, weeping silently as he muttered "shit, Han," under his breath.

Hanna wrapped her arms around his shoulders, resting her head in the crook of his neck as she watched him cry, her heart cracking into little pieces as his sobs began to fill the room. "Hey, hey. Caleb, it's okay." But even she couldn't believe her own words. Tears sprouted to her eyes as she breathed in his warm, familiar scent.

"It's not okay, Hanna." Caleb lifted his head from his hands, his eyes bloodshot. "It's not okay."

"I know." Hanna felt tears run down her cheeks as she rubbed his shoulders. After a few moments of silence, Caleb shifted and pulled her onto his lap, wrapping his arms tightly around her body and burying his face into the hollow of her collarbone as he continued to cry.

"This is th…the worst." Caleb squeezed his eyes, feeling his wet eyelashes against his skin. "I failed, Hanna. I failed you."

"Hey, look at me." Hanna gently pulled Caleb's face up so she could look into his eyes. "You did not fail. You did not fail you, me, or anybody. You did the best you could, and it's Columbia's loss, not yours."

Caleb bit down on his bottom lip as the tear poured down his cheeks. "God, I just…I would do anything to be able to go to Columbia."

Hanna swallowed a rising lump in her throat as her mind flashed to Josh. "Anything?" she asked tentatively, hating herself immediately for venturing into bringing up Josh's prospect to him. But he had to know. He had to know so he wouldn't trust Josh, so he could turn him into the police, or his father, or _anyone_. Hanna couldn't carry the burden of Josh's ultimatum with only herself.

Caleb nodded distraughtly. "Anything, Han. I would do anything."

Hanna sighed, wiping the tears that fell down her cheeks with her right hand, her left hand caressing his cheek softly. "Caleb, I need to…to talk to you about something Josh told me yesterday."

* * *

He had wanted to go to lunch with Josh alone that afternoon, but Hanna hadn't let him. Hanna didn't trust Josh, and frankly, she was afraid of what Caleb might do to him.

"I can't believe that son of a -" Caleb stalked towards the pier, Hanna in tow. "I can't believe he would look at you like that, wink at you like that…I can't believe he called you sweetheart. Oh my god I'm going to throw up if I don't punch his face in first."

"Caleb, breathe. He was just trying to get to me…I think." Hanna had to lightly jog to keep up with Caleb's pace. He was boiling mad.

"No wonder you wanted to leave the beach so soon yesterday." Caleb could feel his heart pounding with rage in his chest. "Why didn't you tell me?" His voice was hard, demanding.

"I'm sorry, I didn't want to put that on you! Especially if you had gotten the full scholarship!" Hanna picked up her pace. "Caleb, slow down!"

Caleb stopped in his tracks, turning around to face Hanna who had slowed her pace until she was at a walk again. "Sorry, I just…" He shook his head. "I can't believe I thought I could be friends with that low life scumbag. Anyone who makes you feel like that should be…should be…" His breathing turned ragged with fury.

"Hey, breathe." Hanna rubbed her hand up and down Caleb's arm. "Can you answer my question from a few minutes ago that you seem to be ignoring?"

Caleb sighed, staying silent as he looked down at Hanna.

"Are you going to do what he wants you to do, Caleb? Are you going to hack into Montecito's PD files?" Caleb stayed like he had when Hanna first asked him the question in his bedroom after telling him about Josh: silent. "Answer me, Caleb." Her voice was shaking as she spoke.

"I…" Caleb shook his head. "I don't know. I hate the fact that he made you feel the way that you did, and believe me, I _will _make him pay for that." Caleb's eyes narrowed in anger as he thought of some stranger making Hanna feel uncomfortable and unsafe. "But, I told you I'd do anything to go to Columbia…"

"Even something _criminal _Caleb?" Hanna shook her head. "Look, I don't care about the way Josh made me feel yesterday. You don't have to go to this lunch, Caleb. You don't have to defend me. You don't have to do something you'll regret later." She ran her hand through her hair. "Don't give in to this loser, Caleb. Don't break the law because he's tempting you with money."

"I haven't exactly abided by the law in the past, Han." Caleb's tone was borderline snarky. "And this stuff isn't nearly as bad as the stuff I did in Allentown." He sighed and softened his tone as Hanna sternly looked at him. "Look, Han, if I can just do it, I would be able to go to Columbia. We would be able to be together. I think that's worth it. And I don't care what you say, I _would_ like to talk to him about how he made you feel yesterday. You can't expect me, as your boyfriend, to just sit back and watch as someone makes my girlfriend feel unsafe. Sorry."

Hanna dropped the argument of Caleb defending her. The issue of him potentially partaking in an illegal action was far more fear inducing and imperative to argue about than her merely feeling uncomfortable. "And for the rest of your life you'll have to live with the fact that you didn't pay for your time at Columbia completely legally." She could feel anger begin to race through her veins. "Caleb, that's a big burden to carry around for the _rest of your life_."

"Hanna, look, this is my problem now. Let me deal with it, okay?" He looked to his right. They were standing on the boardwalk, only a few meters away from the restaurant.

Hanna crossed her arms over her chest and stalked away. "Whatever. Have a great lunch," she called angrily over her shoulder, stalking in the opposite direction, back to the Dawson estate.

"Hanna!" Caleb called after her. Hot with anger, Hanna refused to turn around. She heard footsteps behind her and felt an arm grab her upper arm and twist her around. "Han, please. I'm sorry."

"Tell me you won't do what he wants you to do, Caleb!" Hanna ripped her arm out of his grasp, her voice a muddle of anger and desperation. "Please!"

Caleb ran a hand over his face. "Han, let me just _talk _to him."

Hanna's bottom lip quivered with anger and fear. "Fine, do whatever you want, Caleb." She turned on her heels once again, not wanting to be with him for the moment. "I'll be at home."

Caleb walked up to her again, his eyes softening as he took her hand and pulled her back towards him. "Hanna, I'm doing this for us. For our future."

"Are you sure?" Hanna let her hand fall limp in Caleb's, her voice still icy cold. "It doesn't seem like it."

"Just…let me handle this, okay?" Caleb let go of her hand and kissed her cheek. "I won't do anything stupid."

Hanna crossed her arms over her chest. "Fine."

"I'm not staying for the whole lunch, just for a few minutes. Wait for me out here?"

"Fine."

Caleb nodded, kissing her cheek one last time before turning and jogging into the restaurant. Hanna sighed heavily as she turned towards the ocean, resting her hands on the sides of the wooden boardwalk and praying, harder than she had ever prayed in her life, that Caleb wouldn't do anything to mess up his entire future.

"Hanna Marin?"

Hanna turned around, her eyes locking with a man's she'd never seen before. He looked around her and Caleb's age. He had short brown hair and wore tan khaki shorts with a plaid button up shirt.

"Uh, yeah?"

"Hi." The man stuck his hand out, and Hanna shook it tentatively. "I think you know my friend, Josh?" He gestured towards the restaurant where Caleb and Josh were. "My name is Steve."

Hanna froze. _Steve_. Immediately she recognized his name as the other guy who needed charges erased. She crossed her arms over her chest, retreating into herself as she took a step back. "What do you want?"

Steve smiled the same smile Josh had smiled at her yesterday. Pleasant and easeful on the surface, but menacing and threatening in its undertone. "I couldn't help but overhear you trying to convince Caleb to not take us up on our little…_offer_ to him."

"You mean your 'prospect'?" Hanna quoted Josh from the day before. "Yeah, I would have to be an absolute idiot to allow him to do what you losers want."

"Well, you see, Hanna,_ sweetheart_," Steve stepped forward, closing the distance between him and Hanna. Hanna looked down as he stepped closer, a nervous lump rising quickly in her throat. "That's not really what Josh and I had in mind. We thought you would be _encouraging_ him to do this. To show how much you love him." His voice was nauseatingly dangerous. It terrified Hanna.

"I…" Hanna's breath caught as Steve's hand reached up to her cheek, caressing it gently. She smacked it away immediately, her voice quivering as she tried to yell, "Get away from me!" But through the lump in her throat, it just came out in a helpless, pathetic whisper.

"I won't get away from you until you tell Caleb to take us up on our prospect." Steve lifted up the bottom of his shirt to reveal a gun nestled in the pouch hanging from his belt loop. Hanna gasped, tears of striking fear immediately stinging her eyes as he pulled it out of the loop and pointed it towards her. "The consequences may be…_fatal_. For you, for Caleb, and for your families."

"Caleb!" Hanna screeched, jumping so she could see the restaurant over Steve's shoulder, feeling the gun against her torso. No one was outside, and there was no way Caleb could hear her from where she was. Hanna's heart pounded as Steve roughly covered her mouth with his hand, his eyes flickering with anger.

"Shh, sweetheart. We wouldn't want to interrupt their business meeting in there now, would we?" He cocked his head towards the restaurant before dropping his hand from her mouth and concealing the gun with his shirt once more. He wiped away the tears of fear that fell down her cheeks. "Don't cry, sweetheart." His lips curled into a haunting smile. "Everything will be okay."

"Get away fr-from me." Hanna mustered up the strength to speak with her full voice instead of just her whisper. She let out a breath as Steve stepped backwards, the haunting smile still dancing on his lips.

"See you around." He winked as he turned on his heels, disappearing down the boardwalk. Tears fell furiously down Hanna's cheeks as she closed her eyes briefly before she reopened them and, through blurry vision, quickly made her way to the restaurant. Just as she was about to open the door, Caleb stepped out.

"Hanna?" Caleb gasped as he ran into a hysterical Hanna, her sobs taking him off guard. She automatically wrapped her arms tightly around his torso, bawling into his chest as he protectively wrapped his arms around her as well and pulled her off to the side so they weren't standing directly in front of the restaurant door. "What's wrong, Han?" His voice was tight with concern as she continued to cry, soaking the front of his shirt. "Tell me what's wrong, sweetheart."

Hanna shivered at his nickname for her that now resentfully reminded her of Josh and Steve instead of him. "Y-you have to do this."

"Do what, Han? What you just told me not to do? I just told Josh that I wasn't going to help him or his friend Steve." His voice was gentle, but dread spread through Hanna's body as she processed his words.

"T-they have a-a…" Hanna choked on her words as she lifted her head from Caleb's warm chest and looked into his eyes. "A…"

"A _what_, Han?"

Hanna inhaled shakily. "Steve cornered me while you were in there and said that if you didn't do it there'd be...fatal consequences." She watched as confusion, fear, and rage crossed through Caleb's features. "He pulled a-a gun on me."

Caleb froze for a split second before the eruption. "_WHAT_?" His grip on Hanna became bone-crushingly tight as, like adrenaline, anger rushed through his veins. "He did _WHAT_ to you? Oh my God, Hanna, I am going to absolutely _MURDER_ them!" He unwrapped his arms from around her and pulled her into the restaurant where he had left Josh, his grip tight and defensive around her hand. But as he searched the restaurant, Hanna still hysterically crying next to him, Josh was nowhere to be found.

"Caleb," Hanna whispered, the people in the restaurant staring at them as they turned and exited once again, "He said that he would hurt us and our families if you don't do it." Hanna shuddered before Caleb rewrapped his arms around her. He didn't speak for a long time.

"Hanna, I am not going to let them hurt you." He kissed the top of her head repeatedly as her tears finally began to slow. "Or your family."

"But how, Caleb? They're dangerous." Another round of tears welled up in Hanna's eyes as she nuzzled her face deeper into his chest. She listened to the relaxing beat of his heart as he paused, caressing the top of her head with his hands.

"They're not the only one with a gun, Han."

* * *

**I can't believe this was longer than last chapter. I think I promised I'd make this one shorter…and it was longer. Like I said, I suck at ending these things. If you stuck around this far then, just…thank you. This was one freaking long chapter. And again, sorry this update took so long!**

**Hope you guys liked the action in the second half of this chapter. I thought the first half was getting a bit too fluffy and boring so I decided to whip out the action in the second half haha.**

**Reviews are lovely! You guys rock with your reviews, seriously. You're way too nice to me.**

**Thanks for everything! See you next chapter.**

**- coldplaysout**


	4. Love Will Keep Us Alive

**I'd like to start off by saying that this would have been posted last night if my wifi didn't crash for the whole. freaking. day.**

**Anyways, hi everyone! This is a reminder that you should really listen to the songs I name the chapters after! I draw a lot of inspiration from them. This chapter's title is named after the amazing song "Love Will Keep Us Alive" by The Eagles. Go YouTube it, listen to it, fall in love with it, and then read this chapter and see how I drew inspiration from it! 3...2...1...GO!**

**Thanks for all your reviews for the last chapter! You guys rock. For real.**

**Disclaimer: Again I own nothing. Zip. Nada.**

**Hope you guys enjoy this chapter! I think I'm the most proud of this one so far...but I'll ****probably reread it tomorrow and hate it haha (I'm totally my toughest critic). Anyways, enjoy!**

* * *

"I miss you guys."

"We miss you too, Han. But you're having a good time, right?"

Hanna wiped a stray tear that had fallen from her eye at the sound of Spencer's familiar, soft voice. Until she called her, she hadn't realized how much she missed her and the other girls. As her and Spencer chatted about life back in Rosewood, Hanna desperately wished to be home, safe and far away from the mess her and Caleb were in. "Uh, yeah. It's fun here." She strained herself to sound convincing.

"Did I tell you that Emily can swim again? She's been going to intensive physiotherapy and two days ago her physiotherapist told her she's finally allowed to get back into the water. Aria and I went with her to the pool last night and watched her swim a few laps. She's not at the level she used to be at, but she'll get there again soon I'm sure." Hanna could hear Spencer's smile through the line.

"That's great, Spence. Tell Emily I say congrats." Hanna heard the door close behind her and a pair of footsteps pad softly until Caleb sat down on the front steps of the Dawson Estate beside her. He motioned for Hanna to give him her phone. "Hey, Spence, Caleb wants to talk to you." Hanna handed the cellphone to Caleb and closed her eyes, letting the warm Montecito breeze brush over her still damp face from her tears after her encounter with Steve at the boardwalk only a few minutes earlier.

"Hey, Spencer." Caleb forced himself to smile, his voice a feigned cheerfulness. "How are things?"

"They're good, Caleb. Toby says he misses you." Caleb chuckled lightly at Spencer's giggle.

"Tell him I miss him too. Hey, I have a question for you."

"Shoot."

"Hypothetically, how many years in jail would someone get for hacking into a police department's computer system?"

"Hypothetically?" He could hear Spencer's surprise through the phone. "Caleb, is everything okay?"

"Yeah, yeah. My stepdad just wants to know because the Montecito police department suspects someone from his work may be hacking into the police department's computers, and they're interrogating him tomorrow." Caleb looked to Hanna as he recited his rehearsed lie to Spencer. Hanna nodded as he continued. "I know he didn't do it, but say -A pinned it on him or something, how many years, potentially, could he get?"

"You would get twenty five years to life. Hacking into a police department's computer system is almost as punishable as killing a police officer."

"Hmm." A lump of fear rose in Caleb's throat. "Alright, thanks Spencer. Do you want to talk to Hanna again?"

"No problem. I hope your stepdad's okay. And sure."

Caleb handed Hanna her cellphone back.

"I've gotta go, Spence. Caleb's mom is calling us in for a snack." Hanna bit her bottom lip as she began to frown. "I miss you guys. I'll see you soon. Bye." She hung up the phone after Spencer said her goodbyes as well.

"Twenty five years to life," Caleb groaned, dropping his face into his hands.

"There's no way you're doing it, Caleb." Hanna rubbed his back and leaned her head on his shoulder. "We'll have to figure out something. You said something about a gun back at the boardwalk?"

Caleb sighed and lifted his face from his hands. "Yeah, Will has one. It's not the same one that Nate, or should I say _Lyndon_, shot me with in the lighthouse, the police still have that one. But it's an identical model. I'd be able to use it if I had to." He rested the side of his head on Hanna's. "I don't know what to do, Han. Do I approach them with the gun and tell them to back off? Something tells me they won't be too afraid of my gun since they have their own."

Hanna shook her head. "I'm not letting you get into a shootout with them. How about telling your parents? This isn't –A after us this time, Caleb. It might actually be beneficial to tell your parents about their threats."

Caleb paused, not speaking for a while. Inhaling shakily after minutes of silence, he shook his head. "No. We can't. Somehow Josh found out about all the things I did in Allentown. What I did wasn't technically _illegal_, but I would get in a lot of trouble, especially with my parents, if they were to know. He said he'd tell them if I didn't hack into the PD's computers.

Hanna furrowed her eyebrows. "I thought you already told him you weren't going to?"

"I did. He said he'd give me till tomorrow to change my mind."

"Oh, so now we have a deadline." Panic coursed through Hanna's veins. "What else did he say?"

"He said he'd meet me at the end of the boardwalk at ten p.m. tomorrow." Caleb sighed shakily. "He said if I didn't change my mind, he'd change it for me."

Hanna shuddered. "What does that even mean?"

"I don't know." Caleb swallowed the persistent lump in his throat. "And I don't think I want to know."

"Don't you have to meet with Josh's dad today?" Hanna scowled. "I wonder if you can get out of it?"

"I can't." Caleb closed his eyes, reopening them a moment later. "I don't want my mom and Will to get suspicious. Especially since I didn't get the full scholarship to Columbia." He froze for a moment, unblinkingly staring out onto the driveway.

"Caleb?" Hanna wrapped her arm around his bicep, squeezing it gently as she watched his eyes blink and felt his muscles unfreeze. An impaled, distressed groan escaped his throat as he turned his head to face her.

"Han, I think it just hit me that I'm going to Stanford in the fall."

* * *

"Sorry, Han, I thought my mom would be here while I was having my meeting with Josh's dad." Caleb took Hanna's hand in his. "But she just texted me and said she was out with friends. And James and Clay are at day camp for a few more hours…" He sighed. "I can try and get out of this dumb meeting."

"No, don't." Hanna shook her head, squeezing Caleb's hand. "We don't want to seem suspicious, remember? I'll be okay. I'll play basketball out back or something."

"Uh, no you won't." Caleb narrowed his eyes, his expression somber. "Josh and Steve were _there_ spying on us the other night." He bit his lip, his gaze hot on Hanna's with a protective passion that made Hanna's heart beat a little bit harder. "You're not leaving this house. I just made sure all the doors and windows are locked, but I still don't want you out of this house."

Hanna nodded. "You're right, I forgot. It'd be dangerous." She looked around his bedroom. "Got any fashion magazines by any chance?"

Caleb chuckled as he twined their fingers together and inched his face forward, his lips nearing hers. "Nope. Sorry. I _do_ however have printouts of the _Journal of Computer Science_ if you'd like to familiarize yourself with the subject."

"No way." Hanna giggled lightly before she pressed her lips to his. His lips were soft and warm on hers, sending a loving and tingling sensation through her body. "Where are you and Josh's dad going, anyways?"

"I think a restaurant for a late lunch downtown." Caleb chuckled darkly. "Hopefully this one will go better than the first lunch we attempted at today."

Hanna sighed. "Yeah, hopefully."

A car beeped outside the window. Caleb pulled the drapes aside and waved at the vehicle parked out front. Hanna assumed it was Josh's dad.

"Alright," Caleb turned to face Hanna once more, "I've gotta go. Hopefully this won't take too long. I'll text you." He leaned forward and kissed her lips gently one last time. "Hey," he said, his voice gentle as his thumb reached up and caressed the side of her cheek, "I love you, you know that?"

Hanna smiled, nodding. "I love you too." She blushed as Caleb kissed her forehead. "Be careful."

"You too," he replied, grabbing his wallet from across the room. "Remember, no leaving the house until I get back."

Hanna nodded. "Yup."

"Alright, see you soon."

"See you."

* * *

It was a loud crash coming from the kitchen that startled Hanna out of the nap she'd been taking in Caleb's bedroom.

"What the…" She rolled off the bed and smoothed her hair down before she stuck her head out into the hallway. "Hello?" She was certain she had heard a piercing crash come from the main floor. But no one answered her as she called out, her voice echoing creepily through the mansion. She softly padded out into the hallway, where she gripped the railing and peered down onto the main floor. She didn't hear any footsteps or see any shadows, but she was certain she had heard a crash. It had sounded like it had come from the kitchen, but she couldn't see the kitchen from where she was standing.

"Hello?" She tried again.

No answer.

"Hello?"

Still no answer.

Grabbing her cellphone, she quickly dialed Caleb's number and put him on speakerphone. She listened to it ring for a few seconds before the dial tone filled the silence of the deserted hallway.

"Shoot," she muttered, sticking her phone back in her pocket. "Claudia?" she called, becoming acutely aware of just how silent the house was. Her voice started to shake as she softly shouted, "James? Clay?"

No answers.

She tried Caleb's number but was once again met with the dial tone. Her heart began to pound rigidly against her chest as she moved away from the railing to the grand staircase, carefully tiptoeing down each step, meticulous as to not be heard. Slowly she crept off the last step and turned the corner that brought her down the hallway leading to the kitchen. The air she was breathing was thick and intensely silent. Too silent.

She stepped into the kitchen and found the large, ceiling-high window by the sink completely shattered.

And suddenly, everything went black.

* * *

"Han?" Caleb called as he closed the door to his house an hour and a half later, locking it behind himself. "Sorry, I tried calling you like, four times after I left the restaurant. There was no reception where we were. Where are you?"

Silence.

"Han?" Caleb stepped up the first steps of the staircase, his head angled towards the open door of his bedroom. "Hanna?"

Silence.

He dialed her number, but there was no answer.

"Hanna, where are you?" His voice was becoming desperate. "Han, sweetheart?"

Silence.

"What the hell," he muttered, dialing his mother's cell number.

"Hello?"

"Mom," Caleb breathed. "Are you with Hanna?"

"No, why? I'm still out with the ladies from the country club."

"Oh." Dread filled Caleb's stomach as he noticed a shard of glass on the ground a few feet in front of him. "Okay. Just wondering. I've gotta go." With shaking fingers he hung up the phone and rushed towards the glass, picking it up and following the direction in which it came from: the kitchen. He rushed into the kitchen, a horrified gasp escaping his throat as he processed the state of the room.

Shards of glass were scattered across the floor. The ceiling-high window by the sink was completely shattered, and there was a single note in the middle of the glass.

"What the hell!" Caleb screeched, treading through the glass with his shoes on and picking up the note. He read it quickly and felt like he was suddenly about to pass out.

_Hi Caleb,_

_Thought you might need a little…incentive…to agree to do what we're asking you to do. See you at ten p.m. tomorrow. _

_Sincerely,_

_Josh and Steve_

_P.S. Hanna says hi._

* * *

"Mom, I n-need you to c-come h-home right n-now." Caleb's sobs ripped through the phone. He tried to calm himself, but as he reread the letter through his teary vision, another round of petrified sobs erupted from his chest, convulsing his entire body.

"Caleb, honey, what's wrong?!"

"Come h-home, it's a-about H-H-H…" Caleb's breathing became shallow and quick, making him lightheaded. "I n-ne-need you, mom! And I-I ne-ed the car."

"I'll be home in two minutes."

Caleb nodded and let the phone slip from his hand, watching it hit the ground, just missing a shard of glass. He had collapsed onto the floor just outside the kitchen, where the shards of glass were sparser. Picking up his phone once again, he tried Hanna's number for the tenth time in two minutes.

"Pick up, God dammit!" he screamed into the phone, tears rushing down his face as he listened to the monotone ring for what felt like an eternity. He heard the dial tone for the tenth time, and solemnly knew that Hanna never didn't pick up. "Hanna," he cried, pressing the redial button every time he was met with the dial tone, "I'm sorry, baby." He paused as he bowed his head and let himself weep, his large, salty tears seeping into his lap. "I'm so, so sorry," he whimpered to nobody at all.

* * *

"They pulled a _gun_ out on Hanna? They threatened you and Hanna, and they broke into our house and now they _have_ Hanna?!" William paced in front of Claudia and Caleb, who were in each other's arms on the couch of the living room, Caleb sobbing into his mother's chest. His veins racing with anger and confusion as he reread the letter Caleb had shown him, William bent down in front of his stepson.

"Caleb, I am truly, truly sorry for this." Tears sprouted to his eyes as he watched his young stepson breakdown in his mother's arms, his vicious sobs slicing the otherwise silent room. "This is all my fault, and from the bottom of my heart, I am so, so sorry." His voice was gentle as he moved a strand of Caleb's hair out of his face and watched Claudia bend down and kiss his forehead. "I'm going to call the police right now, and we're going to get Hanna home, alright?"

Caleb's eyes stayed squeezed shut, tears pushing their way out and rushing down his cheeks. "I-It's n-not y-your fault, Will." His words disjointed and detached between vicious, heart wrenching sobs.

"Yes, it is." Will looked to Claudia - who was crying herself - and shook his head shamefully. "We'll talk about this later though, okay? I'm going to call 911." He stalked out of the room and into his office, shutting the door behind him.

"Shh, Caleb, honey.' Claudia squeezed her son as tears streamed down her face. "Shh, I'm here."

"I-I thought the worst day of m-my life w-was the d-d-day I left her for Ravensw-wood," Caleb inhaled raggedly, his sobs coming more frequently as his mind raced of thoughts of what Hanna was going through at that very moment. "B-but th-this is w-worse." His voice wailed, his face soaked with salty tears. "I can't lose her, mom! I can't!"

Claudia rocked her son. "You won't, honey. I promise." But as she spoke, she realized just how unsure of her own words she was.

"I w-won't be able to l-live with myself if someth-hing happens to her." Another round of heartbreaking sobs ripped from his chest. "I can't live without h-her."

Claudia tried to control the tears that were rushing down her own face as she listened to her son's tragic confessions, his voice breaking with every word he spoke. "I know, honey. But you w-won't have to." She wiped away a few tears on her cheeks and sniffled her nose.

"The police are on their way. I know you wanted to go looking for her Caleb, but the police said to wait until they get here. They also said they would've waited forty eight hours to file a missing person's report, but since we have the note," Will held up the letter as he briskly walked back into the living room, "they said they can begin the investigation immediately."

Caleb rubbed his hands over his face, lifting his head from his mother's chest. "Okay." He winced as he sat up, his eyes still swimming in tears. "God, I feel sick to my stomach."

"Do you need Tums or Pepto Bismol?" Claudia's eyebrows knitted with deep concern for her broken son.

"No," Caleb's lip quivered as he tried to call Hanna again. Inhaling shakily, another round of tears began to spill over his lids as the dial tone filled the room. "_I need Hanna._"

* * *

The police had allowed Caleb to go searching for Josh and Steve as Claudia and Will filed the report back at the Dawson Estate. When his hysterical tears had finally slowed and an intense anger began to build deep in his core, Caleb had realized that by telling his parents everything, Josh and Steve would probably tell them about his actions in Allentown. But he didn't care – all he cared about was finding Hanna safe, and watching Josh and Steve go to jail. Even if he would, too, eventually have to pay for his actions.

Going twenty miles over the speed limit, he screeched out of the driveway and raced to the boardwalk, where he was only mildly expecting them to be. So, as he drove along and was presented with an empty pier, he wasn't particularly surprised.

He was, however, reeling with a newfound anger and resentment. Every second that passed, he hated them more. Every second that passed, his grip on the steering wheel became tighter and tighter with penetrating rage.

"God dammit," he muttered as he turned away from the boardwalk, racing down the streets of Montecito. The sun was beginning to set beyond the horizon and Caleb's heart began to race at the impending nighttime. He desperately wished to find her before the sun set - he knew he wouldn't be sleeping until he did. His cellphone began to ring after thirty minutes of searching, his heart skipping a beat until he looked at his screen and saw it was his mom calling, not Hanna. He pulled over to the side of the road and answered the call.

"Hi, mom."

"Anything, Caleb?"

"No," he groaned, leaning his forehead against the wheel. "Nothing."

"The police discovered that Josh isn't living with his father. He has his own home. The address is 265 Paliside Crescent. The police are on their way there, but are you anywhere near there now?"

Caleb looked up. A few feet ahead of him lay Paliside Crescent.

"Mom, I've gotta go." Hastily Caleb hung up and sped onto Paliside Crescent. He slowed the car slightly as he squinted his eyes, searching the house numbers carefully. In a few seconds, he found 265. He parked on the street across from the house and raced to the door, not bothering to knock. His hand went immediately to the knob.

It was locked.

"You've gotta be kidding me," Caleb muttered angrily as his hand hastily jiggled the knob. He stepped back from the door and surveyed the front of the house. There was a large window three feet to his left, and a garage two feet to his right. Giving himself no time to rationalize, he ran to the garage. Lifting the door open, he quickly searched the dusty, dark room for an axe or hammer or anything that would help him break the window. After a moment, he found a large, steel axe hanging against the wall with a pair of protective goggles beside it. He grabbed both objects and ran back outside, hopping over a couple withering flowers to position himself in front of the window. Placing the goggles over his eyes, he gripped the axe tightly, his muscles tensing as he steadied himself. He inhaled and exhaled once deeply before turning his head away and throwing his arm forward, the axe shattering the window. As the window broke, Caleb ducked away, shielding himself from the shards of glass flying in all directions. He waited until he heard the last _clink_ of glass before looking back up. He had created a hole large enough to step through. Gingerly he climbed into the house, tossing the goggles aside but keeping the axe securely in his grip. He stepped around the shards of glass, surprised and grateful that he didn't have even a single cut or scrape from any of them. He whipped his head around as he completely stepped into the house. He was standing in the living room. All the lights were off.

"HANNA?" he screamed, moving quickly through the house. Droplets of sweat appeared on his forehead and his heart raced as he searched all the rooms on the main floor, only to be met time after time with silence and emptiness. "HANNA?"

Suddenly, there was a bang.

It wasn't loud, but it was enough to direct Caleb to the door leading to where he presumed was the basement. Opening it with shaking hands, he descended down the steep stairs, his grip on the axe tight and sweaty.

When he reached the bottom, he saw her.

"Oh my God." A horrified gasp left Caleb's lips as he quickly took in Hanna. She was tied up to a chair with a gag in her mouth, her face stained with tears and mascara, a large red mark across her cheek. It was a sight Caleb had only seen in movies. He couldn't breathe.

"Helfhsjb." With tears streaming down her cheeks, Hanna tried to speak through the gag as Caleb ran towards her.

"I'm so sorry, baby, I'm so happy you're alive, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry," Caleb repeated, tears running down his own cheeks as he began to try to untie the gag from around her mouth. But the knot was too intricate, too tight for him to figure out in his current, almost hysterical state. He kissed her red cheek quickly as he moved from her face, working the knot that tied her wrists together.

And suddenly, there was a gun against his head.

Of course he couldn't see it for sure, but the scream that left Hanna's throat and the look of terror in her eyes mixed with the feeling of cold, hard steel against his temple inclined Caleb to believe that there was, indeed, a weapon being held to his head. He froze, his hands dropping from Hanna's still-constrained wrists.

"Step away from her."

Caleb locked his eyes with Hanna's. "Okay." His voice shook as he spoke, but there was a determination in his eyes that told Hanna that he wasn't going to let anything happen to her. That he would put his life in danger to keep her alive. It petrified Hanna.

"Calebdbsda-" Hanna desperately tried to speak through the gag, tears soaking her cheeks as she watched Josh twist the gun on Caleb's temple.

"Hanna," Caleb leaned forward, wiping the tears that rushed down her face. His eyes were gentle, unafraid, but his fingers were trembling. "I love you. I love you so much."

Hanna shook her head resiliently as Caleb stood up, her eyes begging him to keep himself safe. She was crying harder than she ever had as she struggled to free herself from the chair she was constrained to. She watched with terror as Caleb held his hands up and walked to where Josh directed him - against the wall a few feet away from her.

"Don't hurt her." Despite the lethal weapon against his head, Caleb's voice was fervent and strong. "I'll do whatever you want, as long as you don't hurt her."

"We don't want her," Josh replied, his lips curled up in a snarl. There was a clearing of someone's throat in the corner of the room, and Josh turned his head as Steve stepped out of the shadows, picking up the axe Caleb had left lying at Hanna's feet. "Let me rephrase. I don't want her. I'm more of a brunette guy." Josh's eyes widened hauntingly. "But Steve, boy, he's taken a particular liking to your lovely girlfriend over there." He gestured to Hanna with his head. "So, sorry Caleb, but no promises. Steve is quite the..._heartbreaker_." He shrugged, his snarl curling into a chilling smile.

Horror spread through Caleb as he watched Steve circle Hanna, the axe secure in his large grip.

"But," Josh continued, his voice perking. "If you do what Steve and I want you to do, we'll consider changing what we do to her."

"_Consider?_" Caleb's voice was heated with anger. "No, you'll do whatever you want with me, and you'll _leave her alone._"

"We'll think about it." Josh took a step closer to Caleb so he was close enough for Caleb to inhale the stench of his hot breath. He paused for a moment before he hurled his fist into his stomach.

Caleb doubled over at the impact, squeezing his eyes shut and clenching his teeth as Josh moved his fist. "AGH!" he screamed as a piercing pain and intense nausea blasted his nerve endings. He heard Hanna shriek something that sounded like his name.

"That's for breaking my window, _asshole_."

Caleb moaned slightly as he clutched his stomach. He looked to Hanna, his heart cracking as he watched her break into hysterics at the sight of him being in pain.

"Please..." Caleb gulped down the pain. "Let...her...go." His words came out in short wheezes as he tried to regain his breath. "_Please_. Shoot...me, I don't...care. Just," He took a deep breath, "let..." wheeze, "her..." wheeze, "live." He let out a final loud wheeze, his hands releasing his stomach.

Hanna cried hysterically at his words, violently thrashing against the chair.

"Let's think about this, Steve," Josh said, fiddling with the gun against Caleb's temple. "I think we would..._benefit _much greater from Caleb's proposition than our original plan. If we set her free," Josh pointed to Hanna with the gun for a moment before returning it to Caleb's temple, Caleb tensing as he did so, "then we get Caleb to erase the charges, _and_ we get the pleasure of doing whatever we want to him afterwards. Double win!" He laughed manically. It sent a shiver down Caleb's spine.

"That's true." Steve stopped circling Hanna. He looked down at her, and began to lean his face in towards hers. Caleb's hands balled into fists at his side.

"HEY," he yelled, watching as Steve snapped up. "If you want me to erase the charges, you don't touch her, or even _look _at her." He narrowed his eyes menacingly at Steve. Hanna had never seen him so intimidatingly threatening in all the years she had known him. His voice was laced with bitter hatred, his eyes burning with rage. "Got it?"

Steve squinted his eyes, looking to Josh. He shook his head ever so slightly, enough for Caleb to notice.

"That's not going to work for us, Caleb. You see..."

"No, it's not only going to work, it's the way it's going to be." His penetrating words hung in the dingy basement air. Josh's eyes glinted with a hauntingly frightening flare.

"I don't think you realize that with one pull of this trigger," Josh anchored his neck to the left, "I could end it all. You would cease to exist. And then who would be here to protect poor Hanna?" He furrowed his brow mockingly. "Nobody." His eyes glared with anger, his voice dropping to a menacing growl. "Piss me off _one_ more time, and I end it all. Right here, right now."

A mangled cry came from Hanna's direction. Caleb exhaled slowly through his nose, bowed his head, and stayed silent.

"_That's what I thought_."

"Joshua Jones, Steven Matheson, put your hands up where we can see them."

Caleb lifted his head and gasped as two burly policemen wearing bulletproof vests hastily stepped onto the basement floor, their guns pointed at Josh and Steve.

"Shit," Josh and Steve cursed simultaneously. Josh, with shaking hands, immediately set his gun down and lifted his hands in the air. Steve did the same with the axe.

"Caleb Rivers?" the policeman closest to Caleb's left asked.

Caleb nodded, his eyes widening, his hands shaking violently. He was safe. _Hanna_ was safe.

The policeman looked to Hanna while the other one stepped forward, cut the gag, and began working on letting her hands free. "Hanna Marin?" he asked.

Hanna nodded, failing to control her sobs as the policeman cut the knot around her wrist. She sprinted across the room the second as her hands were no longer constrained and crashed her body into Caleb's, burying her face in his warm chest, horrified and relieved sobs ripping from her small frame.

"You may go upstairs. There are other police officers outside the house who you'll have to speak to." The policeman smiled sympathetically at the couple, watching as Caleb let tears of joy escape from his eyes as he held Hanna close to him, whispering soft, loving words in her ear.

"Okay. Thank you, sir." Caleb unwrapped one arm from Hanna's shaking body and shook the police officer's hand before he led Hanna up the stairs, Hanna leaning into him for support up each step.

"Oh my God." Caleb exhaled when they reached the top, a feeling of relief washing over him for what felt like the first time in his entire life. He pulled Hanna tightly into his chest, lifting her off the ground and hurriedly kissing every available part of her face. He kissed her with an intensity like he had never kissed her before and would never kiss her again. As he held her off the ground he felt her legs wrap around his waist, her body viciously shaking. Her tears soaked right through his shirt onto his shoulder.

"You're safe, you're safe," he repeated in her ear, rubbing her back soothingly. "I'm here, and you're safe, and I love you." A few tears of happiness and relief at the fact that he was able to hold her again slipped from the corners of his eyes.

"A-Are y-you okay?" she asked, her tears flowing down her face.

"Yes, yes I'm fine." Caleb set her down after another few minutes of holding her and kissing her. He bent his knees slightly and leaned his face forward as he inspected the red mark across her cheek. His fingers delicately traced it, but when Hanna began to wince in pain, he instantly retracted them. "What did they do?" he asked, a lump appearing in his throat as he stared into Hanna's bloodshot, puffy blue eyes.

"They h-hit me when you came i-in. I-I tried t-to call out t-to y-you when I h-heard your v-voice, b-but t-then t-t-t-hey..." She collapsed into his arms, her sobs violently shaking her body, slicing the eerie silence of the room. Just seeing the degree of trauma she was in was enough to reduce Caleb to the same state, but he swallowed back his sobs. He knew he had to be strong for her.

"It's okay, I'm here, baby. I'm here, and I love you, and you're safe, and I'm not going anywhere." He rubbed her back once more, kissing the side of her head over and over again. "Josh and Steve are going to go to jail, and they're going to be nowhere near us, okay?" There was a sudden tap on the window of the front door. Caleb looked up and found a policeman at the window smiling sympathetically and motioning for him and Hanna to go outside. "We have to go talk to the policemen outside, okay? Can you do that, sweetheart?" His voice, sweet and tender, began to sooth Hanna's painful sobs. "I love you so much, and I won't leave your side, not for one second."

Hanna nodded slightly, her grip tightening around his torso. Caleb smothered the top of her head with kisses before he tightened his grip on her as well, and they stepped out of the door.

They were first captured in a bone-crushing hug by a sobbing Claudia.

"Oh, Hanna, darling, I'm so happy you're okay," she cried, her arms secure around both Hanna and Caleb's shoulders. "And Caleb, honey, thank God you're okay. 'Worried sick' is an incredible understatement for what William and I were feeling." She wiped the tears that continued to fall down her face. "I'm just so happy you're both safe."

"Caleb, Hanna." Will walked up behind his wife, and, to Caleb's surprise, had tears trickling down his own cheeks. "Come here you two."

Caleb and Hanna walked out of Claudia's embrace and into Will's powerful and warm one.

"Thank the Lord you're both safe," he whispered, his voice tight with an emotion Caleb wasn't even aware existed in him. "I'm so sorry."

"Don't apologize," Caleb replied as he and Hanna pulled back from the embrace. "It's not your fault."

"Caleb Rivers and Hanna Marin?" A police officer stepped forward, interrupting Will and Caleb. The couple turned and nodded. "We'd like to ask you a few questions about Joshua Jones and Steven Matheson. Could you do that for us?"

Caleb looked down at Hanna, whose sobs had reduced but whose tears were still rushing seemingly endlessly. "You okay to talk to them for a few minutes, baby?" His voice was quiet, impossibly loving and gentle.

Hanna looked up at him and nodded timidly. "Don't leave me," she whispered, her voice small and as timid as her nod.

Caleb tightened his grip on her body and kissed her forehead with a passion and promise that told Hanna she had nothing to fear anymore. The worst was over, and they were both finally safe.

"I'll never leave you."

* * *

"You were going to die for me."

"Of course."

"I..." Hanna felt another round of tears well up in her eyes as she and Caleb sat in each other's arms in the backseat of Will's car on the way home. They had watched the police arrest Josh and Steve, and had, after retelling their story in full to the police (Caleb horrifyingly gasping and gripping even tighter onto Hanna when she told the police how they knocked her unconscious and as she came to, she found herself tied up in their basement), were allowed to go home. Claudia had opted to drive Caleb's car home and Caleb had willingly agreed. He was in no state to drive and in no state to let go of Hanna.

"Hanna, I would do anything for you."

Hanna genuinely was at a loss for words. She didn't think it was physically possible to hold so much love for one person, but as she gazed into Caleb's deep brown eyes, she found her love for him only flourishing. She leaned forward and, with trembling lips, kissed him with all the vehemence and love she could possibly give. It was a strong, passionate kiss they exchanged in the darkness of Will's car. Caleb had wanted to be gentle with her, but the fact that he was able to hold her, kiss her, and tell her he loved her, was enough to wipe him clean of any self control.

New tears began to roll down Hanna's cheeks as she allowed him to deepen the kiss. And when they parted a few minutes, she began to smile as he kissed away the tears that trickled down her cheeks. "I love you," she whispered, her voice tight with a loving passion. "I love you so much, I can't even explain it."

Caleb brushed a strand of hair off her forehead. His eyes were intent on hers, his gaze gentle but burning. Burning with immeasurable, eternal love. "I love you more."

"Not possible," she objected as she rested her head on his chest. "Not possible."

He smiled as he rested his cheek on the top of her head, smoothing her hair down with his hand. "Not knowing where you were earlier today..." His smile quickly disappeared as his mind travelled back a mere few hours. "...I've never felt so terrible. It was, by far, the worst few hours of my entire life." His voice shook slightly as he spoke.

Hanna angled her head up so she could look into his eyes, which were welled up with tears. She tightened her grip on his torso and planted a kiss in the crook of his neck, watching as a sole tear ran down his cheek. "Hey, I'm safe. Because of you." She smiled a small smile and rubbed his side soothingly. "You saved me."

Caleb exhaled loudly, shaking his head once. "Thank God you're okay." Another tear slipped down his cheek. He felt Hanna wipe away the first one gently.

"Now you can maybe begin to understand how I felt when you got shot," she said, swallowing through her tightening throat. "Those were the worst few hours of _my _entire life."

Caleb raised his eyebrows as he wiped the second tear away. "Worse than getting _kidnapped_?"

"Yes." Hanna's voice was strong as she pushed herself up so she could kiss his cheek. "Because when I was alone with them in their basement," she mumbled against his cheek, "I knew _you _were safe."

"I..." Now Caleb was the one who couldn't find words. He pressed his lips to her forehead and pulled her as close into his body as physically possible in the backseat of his stepdad's BMW. "God, I love you so much. I don't know how I'd live without you."

"I don't know what I'd do without you, either." Hanna closed her eyes as she moved her head back to its resting position on his chest.

Silently Will watched the young couple in the rearview mirror. Silently he listened to their conversation, and, as he silently processed their words of complete devotion and love, silently he cursed himself for being so callous and cruel.

* * *

"Yeah, mom, I'm okay. He's okay too. We're all okay. I'm back at his house, we're going to get some sleep, and he and I will be on a flight home to Rosewood tomorrow."

Caleb watched as Hanna spoke to her mother on the phone. Together they sat on his bed, she in a pair of sweatpants and one of his sweaters, her tear-stained face washed and her hair brushed into a high ponytail. Claudia had allowed her and Caleb to both sleep in Caleb's room that night. Caleb had wanted to ask Will if it was all right as well, but as soon as they got home, he had disappeared into his office.

"Yeah, he's here, do you want to talk to him?" Hanna looked to Caleb, and after a moment, handed him the phone.

"Hi Ashley." Caleb smiled into the phone.

"Caleb!" Ashley's voice was frantic. "Are you okay sweetie?"

"Yes, I'm fine." His smile grew as Hanna leaned back into his open arms.

"I wanted to thank you..." Through the line Caleb heard her inhale a ragged breath and sniffle quietly. "For keeping my daughter safe. Hanna didn't tell me specifically what happened yet, but I can only imagine what ends you went to to keep her out of danger."

"Your daughter means the world to me," Caleb replied, kissing Hanna's temple softly as he spoke. "I would do anything to keep her safe."

"I know you would." Ashley sighed. "She's so lucky to have you, Caleb. I really mean that."

"I'm even more lucky to have her."

"I'm sorry you guys had to cut your trip short. I just...I need to see her."

Caleb shook his head. "Don't apologize. I want to go home anyways. So does Hanna. We need to get away from here."

"Well, I'll be seeing you two soon. I should go to bed, it's almost three a.m. here." Ashley paused. "Thank you again, Caleb. So much. I love you honey."

"Love you too, Ashley. Here's Hanna." Caleb handed the phone back to Hanna. He closed his eyes as she said her goodbyes.

"Ready to go home tomorrow?" Hanna asked as she curled up in Caleb's embrace. Caleb pulled the covers over them and shut his bedside table lamp off.

"Yes. I am very ready."

"Actually, can you turn the light back on?" Hanna asked shyly. "I'm still afraid, Caleb."

"Of course." Caleb turned the light back on and pressed his body closer to hers. "I'm right here, sweetheart. The whole night. If you need anything, just wake me up." He kissed her nose and smiled slightly as he watched her scrunch it up.

"I love you," she whispered, her words slightly slurring as sleep began to overtake her body. "So much."

Caleb smiled. "I love you more." He heard her mumble an incoherent objection before her eyes drooped shut and her breathing became rhythmic and soft. His smile growing, he kissed her forehead. "Goodnight, sweetheart."

* * *

"How did you guys sleep?"

"Not very well," Hanna admitted, handing Claudia her finished breakfast plate and yawning quietly. "I woke up from nightmares four times."

Caleb frowned as he finished his last bite of toast. "Yeah, sleep is going to be tricky for at least the next few weeks."

Hanna nodded in agreement as she rubbed her eyes.

"Did Will book our flight?" Caleb asked, moving behind Hanna and snaking his arms around her collarbone. He felt her wrap her hands around his forearms.

"Um," Claudia's eyes flashed to the dining room. "Not exactly."

"What? Why?" Caleb furrowed his eyebrows as he rested his chin on the top of Hanna's head.

"William?" Claudia called, watching as Will stepped out of the dining room. "Care to explain?"

Will smiled at Hanna and Caleb as he walked towards them, his cellphone in his hand. He motioned towards the phone as he began to speak. "I wanted to start off by saying that Josh's father, Phillip, is incredibly sorry. I just got off the phone with him and he said he had no idea that Josh was...like that." Will shifted uncomfortably at his choice of words. "He told me to tell you two that 'sorry' obviously doesn't cut it, but he's hoping that, in time, you can forgive him."

Caleb and Hanna nodded simultaneously. "Of course," Caleb said. "He seemed like a really nice guy when we went out to lunch."

"Yeah, he really is." Will slipped his phone in his pocket. "I also just got off the phone with your mother, Hanna."

Hanna raised her eyebrows. "Really?"

"Yeah. I called her and asked if it was okay that you got home a little bit later than planned...because you and Caleb will be driving home. Instead of flying."

"Why?" Both of them asked simultaneously again. They giggled together at their timing.

"Because, well, I'm giving you the Range Rover, Caleb." A brilliant smile began to spread across Will's face.

Caleb froze. "You're _what?_"

"Giving you the Range Rover," Will repeated, laughing afterwards. Caleb's eyebrow perked and eyes widened, darting suspiciously between Will and Claudia's beaming faces.

"...Why?"

Will shrugged, wrapping his arm around Claudia's waist as she stepped beside him. "We just figured that you're going to need a bigger car to move all your stuff when you go to college..." He paused, his eyes dancing with happiness. "At Columbia."

Caleb and Hanna both froze.

"What?" They spoke simultaneously again but didn't laugh afterwards. They stayed frozen, their faces morphed in expressions of confusion and suspicion.

Will stepped forward and pulled Caleb away from Hanna. He placed his hand on his shoulder and looked deep into his eyes. "Caleb, I'm sorry for everything. I said some really, really hurtful things a few nights ago, and they were completely uncalled for." He looked away for a moment. "You'll understand," He looked back up, "after you attend Columbia, that you attain a certain amount of pride for the college you go to. I let my pride for Stanford get in the way of your happiness, and for that, I am truly sorry."

Caleb blinked, still frozen by the initial shock of Will's words. "It's okay, Will. I-"

"Hold on, I'm not done yet." Will dropped his hand from Caleb's shoulder and turned to Hanna. "Hanna, now I must apologize to you. It wasn't a secret that I wasn't exactly your biggest fan when you first came." He chuckled, his face turning slightly red. "I thought you were the reason Caleb was hesitant on Stanford, but of course, I was completely delusional. I was rude to you, and I said some things I'm not proud of. And for that, I am also very, truly sorry." Will looked at Caleb and smiled. "You've got yourself an amazing girl, Caleb. Hold onto her. Don't mess things up. Great girls like Hanna don't come along very often, so if you're lucky enough to find one, you must cherish them."

Caleb and Hanna exchanged a loving smile, Caleb winking flirtatiously at her.

"I know how much you two love each other," Will continued. "It's amazing to witness, actually. And after all you've both been through, I would have to be Satan to not support your decision of Columbia, Caleb. You earned your way into that school, and it's an amazing school. I'm so proud of you, and I'm so proud I get to call you my stepson."

Hanna and Caleb still stayed frozen, looking at Will and Claudia.

"I'm done now," Will smiled, motioning towards the couple. "Go, celebrate!"

Incredulously Caleb turned towards Hanna. His jaw was dropped, but his eyes were ecstatic.

"Han..." he trailed off, laughing melodically as Hanna excitedly leapt into his arms. He twirled her around and buried his face into the crook of her shoulder, breathing in her sweet, warm scent.

"They're going to be together forever, aren't they?" Claudia asked softly as she watched their embrace, leaning into Will's side. Will smiled warmly as the loving young couple kissed with smiles playing on their lips, and nodded his head.

"Yup. Forever."

* * *

"The tank is full." Will patted the hood of the Range Rover as Caleb loaded the last bag into the trunk. "So you won't have to worry about gas for about a state and half."

Caleb smiled at Will. "Thanks, Will. For everything. For offering up your house for us to visit, for this," He gestured to the car, "and for Columbia." He wrapped his arms around his stepfather, patting his shoulders as he hugged him. "Thank you. I mean it."

"No need to thank me. You deserve everything you've gotten and more, Caleb."

Realization struck Caleb as he pulled back from the embrace that he was actually really going to miss Will. "Where's Hanna?" he asked as he shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans.

"Right here," Hanna giggled, walking towards Caleb with James and Clay glued to her sides. She patted their heads and bent down to their levels. "I've gotta go, guys."

"I don't want you to!" Clay exclaimed, hugging Hanna tightly. James shook his head, his bottom lip stuck out in a pout.

"Me neither, I need to teach you so much about basketball still!" He wrapped his arms around Hanna as well. Hanna looked up and Caleb as she hugged the little boys back and mouthed, "They are too cute." Caleb just chuckled.

"Alright guys, we've gotta go." Caleb said, smiling as his little stepbrothers detached themselves from Hanna and hugged him instead. Hanna stood up and walked over to Claudia.

"Thank you, Claudia. For everything." She hugged Claudia tightly. "I'm sorry things worked out this way."

"Hanna, do not apologize. It was a pleasure having you two here. You're such a sweet girl, Caleb is the luckiest guy in the world." She squeezed Hanna strongly. "I'm going to miss you so much, sweetie."

"I'll miss you too." Hanna frowned. "I hope I'll see you guys before Caleb and I leave for college."

"Oh I'm sure William will fly us over there in August to help Caleb pack up."

"Perfect. Then I'll see you guys then." Hanna smiled as she walked over to Will. She held out her hand as she approached him. "Mister Dawson..."

Will chuckled, holding both his arms open. "Have we not been through enough for you to call me Will yet, Hanna?"

Hanna blushed as she giggled, retracting her hand and walking into his open embrace. "Thank you, Will. Your generosity is overwhelming."

"Thank _you_, Hanna. You've done more for Caleb than I ever could, or I ever will." His voice was gentle, and Hanna knew he meant every word he said. She smiled as she stepped back. "Have a safe trip across the country. We'll see you guys in August."

"Looking forward to it." She turned on her heels and walked to the Range Rover, where Caleb stood alone, his back leaning against the driver's door. He twirled the keys around his finger as she came up beside him.

"You excited?" he smiled, pulling his Ray Bans down over his eyes. Hanna nodded and mirrored his smile, turning around and waving at Claudia, William, James, and Clay, who had all retreated to the porch of the estate.

"Very excited."

"Road-trip!" Caleb exclaimed, chuckling as he hopped in the driver's side. He waited for Hanna to get into her side and buckle up before starting the ignition. Opening the window, he leaned out and waved one last time to his family before driving out the massive gates. He took Hanna's hand in his as they drove down the wide, winding roads.

"Ready?" Hanna asked after a few minutes of comfortable silence. Caleb knotted his eyebrows.

"For what?"

Hanna looked out onto the road before looking back at Caleb, her grin spread ear to ear. "The rest of our lives, silly."

Caleb paused and processed Hanna's words before he took his eyes off the road and looked at her. He didn't answer right away. He simply allowed the corners of his mouth to tug up as he pulled her hand up to his lips, kissing her knuckles softly. His eyes locked with hers and danced with a pure, ceaseless elation that spoke more than words ever could.

After another bought of comfortable silence, when they were traveling through the trees and the sun was beginning to set beyond the horizon and the pink and purple hues of the sky began to blend together in a pristine and melodic harmony, Caleb looked over at Hanna. The mellowing colors of the sky reflected off her face, reflected in her crystal blue eyes, but Caleb didn't see this. No, he looked over at Hanna and saw not the purple sky dancing prettily on her face.

He saw his entire future.

He smiled as he finally answered her question.

"Ready."

* * *

**I feel like I could easily end the story there.**

**But I won't...I don't think.**

**I hope you all enjoyed it though! Was it too predictable? Too fluffy? Too creepy? I don't know. Reviews are helpful!**

**Also, is anybody else getting really sad with every passing week because every week that passes is one week closer to Caleb's departure? I've said it once and I'll say it again, I ain't watching PLL anymore once he leaves. Hanna is going to get with that Travis dude and he'll get with that Miranda chick in Ravenswood and it's all gonna suck. I'll just live off my boxsets.**

**Anyways, see you all next chapter (if I don't decide that this was a suitable ending haha)! Thanks for everythanggggg.**

**- coldplaysout**


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